


One Gay More!

by BookDragon6127, TheGothicFrenchFry



Series: One Gay More! [2]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Adorable Cosette, Artist Grantaire, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Awesome Cosette, Background Combeferre/Courfeyrac, Badass Cosette, Bisexual Grantaire, Cosette And Enjolras Are Siblings, Courfeyrac Is A Little Shit, Courfeyrac being Courfeyrac, Doctor Combeferre, Enjolras Being An Idiot, Enjolras Has Feelings, Enjolras Was A Charming Young Man Who Was Capable Of Being Terrible, Enjolras/Grantaire-centric, Eventual Enjolras/Grantaire, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Florist Jean Prouvaire, Gen, Genderfluid Jean Prouvaire, Good Friend Combeferre, Grantaire is a good boyfriend, Injured Enjolras, M/M, Minor Combeferre/Courfeyrac, Minor Cosette Fauchelevent/Marius Pontmercy, Montparnasse Being an Asshole, Multi, Mutual Pining, Nice Montparnasse, Pining Enjolras, Pining Grantaire, Pride Parades, Protective Grantaire, Sick Enjolras, Sorry Not Sorry, but then, cute les amis, not until later though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2020-01-12 18:40:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18452360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookDragon6127/pseuds/BookDragon6127, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGothicFrenchFry/pseuds/TheGothicFrenchFry
Summary: "Enjolras woke up with a pillow being thrown at his face. He groaned and sat up looking for the person who threw it. Cosette grinned cheekily from the other side of the room.“Come on sleeping beauty! Time to get up!” She called over to him. He took the same pillow that woke him up and launched it back at his sister. She easily dodged and left the room laughing. Enjolras dragged himself out of bed. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror and gave up trying to tame his mane of hair and just tied it back. He shuffled out of his and Cosette’s room and downstairs to where Jean Valjean and Cosette were eating breakfast. "orAn Enjoltaire modern AU that will be quite a bit of an emotional roller coaster





	1. Cosette and Enjolras

**Author's Note:**

> HI! This is my first actually fanfic that will hopefully be a decent length (i.e. that is not just a few chapters) and will hopefully be updated twice a week. Please let me know what you think in the comments!

Enjolras woke up with a pillow being thrown at his face. He groaned and sat up looking for the person who threw it. Cosette grinned cheekily from the other side of the room.

 

“Come on sleeping beauty! Time to get up!” She called over to him. He took the same pillow that woke him up and launched it back at his sister. She easily dodged and left the room laughing. Enjolras dragged himself out of bed. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror and gave up trying to tame his mane of hair and just tied it back. He shuffled out of his and Cosette’s room and downstairs to where Jean Valjean and Cosette were eating breakfast.

 

“Morning,” he greeted as he walked into the kitchen. Valjean smiled at him

 

“Morning Enjolras. Are you going with us back to school today? Cosette said that she was going up early.”

 

“Yeah, both of us are going up. We’re planning to hold a rally when everyone comes back so we’ll have to go up early.”

 

“Well, I hope you both come back for the holiday or spring break.” Cosette got up and kissed Valjean on the cheek.

 

“Of course, Papa. I’m going to pack.” After she left the room, Valjean’s smile disappeared and he pulled out an official looking letter.

 

“Enjolras,” he started cautiously. “I have some… bad news. Your father’s lawyer sent a letter. He wants to officially,.... Disown you.” Enjolras’ head shot up.

 

“He wants to ‘officially disown me’? That’s low, even for him. When does he want to do that?” he said emotionlessly. Valjean gave him a look of sympathy.

“Next friday.”

 

“What? He can’t do that! That’s the first day of classes and the day we plan to hold the rally!” Enjolras exploded. He cursed under his breath. “He _must’ve_ planned that. We tried to spread the word as much as possible. I can’t believe him!”

Valjean sighed. “I’m sorry, Enj. You should just focus on getting back to school and setting up the rally. You always trusted Combeferre and Courfeyrac, they will be able to help you. You should go pack. I’ll drive the two of you up in a half hour.” Enjolras nodded and went up to his and Cosette’s room to pack. Cosette met him in the hallway.

 

“I heard everything,” she confessed. “I’m so sorry Enjy. If it helps, ‘Zel said she got the Musian to let the Courfeyrac back.” She offered a small smile before pulling Enjolras in a quick hug. Then, they went upstairs to pack their stuff for the new school year.


	2. The Triumvirate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’ve got to go. See you guys later?” Cosette rolled her eyes.
> 
> “Sure, socialize and leave me to unpack alone!” she groaned over dramatically. Now it was Enjolras’ turn to roll his eyes.
> 
> “I’ll stay. If you want to deal with Courfeyrac on caffeine.”
> 
> “Well, in that case. See you to tomorrow at the Musian. Bye Enj!” Cosette all but shoved him out the door while Azelma waved him out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for both the late post and the short chapter! I will hopefully write more the next few but I can promise there will be a long(ish) chapter coming up. Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter and enjoy the addition of Combeferre and Courfeyrac!

After Valjean dropped off them off, Enjolras and Cosette went to the latter’s dorm. She was sharing a room with their mutual friend Eponine. Once they finished moving Cosette’s stuff into the room, a younger girl with light brown hair in a pixie cut came in.

“Hey, you guys are early!” she said, hugging Cosette, then Enjolras.

 “‘Zel! How’ve you been?”

“Not bad. Missed everyone over the summer but it was never dull at the Musain. Musichetta needed help and I was looking for a job.”

“Is that how you were able to get Courfeyrac to be allowed back?” Enjolras asked from his spot on Cosette’s bed. Azelma laughed.

“Sort of. I just gave him Madame Hucheloup’s number and she gave in after the first four hundred texts,” she explained. Enjolras phone buzzed and played the Jaws theme. “Speak of the devil,” Azelma smirked. Enjolras answered his friend’s call.

“Hey Couf.”

“Enjy! Hey, we got our keys! Come down and we can get our stuff in and catch up! We haven’t seen you in at _least_ a month! I may or may not have temporarily replaced you with Madame Hucheloup- oh yeah I also got allowed back to the cafe! Anyway when are you going to come down? Hey give me my ph-” After the abrupt ending, Combeferre sent Enjolras a text. >Negative hours of sleep and way too much caffeine. You’re welcome. 553 Lafayette blvd.<. 

“I’ve got to go. See you guys later?” Cosette rolled her eyes.

“Sure, socialize and leave me to unpack alone!” she groaned over dramatically. Now it was Enjolras’ turn to roll his eyes.

“I’ll stay. If you want to deal with Courfeyrac on caffeine.”

“Well, in that case. See you to tomorrow at the Musian. Bye Enj!” Cosette all but shoved him out the door while Azelma waved him out. Enjolras grabbed his boxes and walked down the street to where the address that Combeferre texted him was. He put the boxes down in order to open the door but a hyper Courfeyrac threw open the door. Before he could ramble again, Combeferre intervened.

“Hey, Enj. Need help?” he asked.

“Yeah that would be great, thanks Ferre!” With his friends’ help, Enjolras was quickly settled in and the three of them relaxed.

“So how was your summer?” Combeferre asked. Enjolras rolled his eyes. 

“It was fine until I got a letter from my dad’s lawyer. He’s disowning me.” Courfeyrac choked on his soda “ _Which_ I don’t give a damn about but he scheduled it for the first day of class and the rally!”

“Damn, sorry Enj. I don’t know what we can do,” Courfeyrac sighed.

“The best we can do is to just plan the rally and then we’ll deal with later this week,” Combeferre suggested.

“He’s right. That’s probably the best option we got,” Courfeyrac agreed sadly. Enjolras groaned.

“Yeah, anyway do you guys know if everyone is back yet? I was thinking about setting up the meeting earlier so we can catch up _beforehand_.” he said pointedly at Courfeyrac who shrugged innocently.

“Come on, let’s head over now. It’ll be good to get there early.” Combeferre got up and grabbed his coat. Enjolras and Courfeyrac agreed and followed him. They walked down the street to the Cafe Musian.


	3. The Les Amis De L'ABC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Publishing every two weeks". That didn't last very long for which I am sorry. Currently I have finished four of my six finals and I think I did moderately well but we shall see. One more chapter will hopefully be updated in the next few hours and I will post the fifth chapter on Barricade day tomorrow. As always, please comment on what you think. Thank you to everyone who has left kudos on this already and enjoy this next installment.

The old brick building was on the corner of three streets. Inside on the building, there were three floor. The first was the main serving area where the actual cafe and the bar were. The second floor was where the les amis met for there meetings. There were a few tables and one central table that faced a large window looking out on the street. The third floor was a few rooms as well as were Madame Houcheloup lived.  It was a building that seemed timeless. It was as if it was there since the dawn of time and will still be standing until the end of time. 

The trio walked into the first floor of the Cafe to find Madame Houcheloup cleaning the counter. Musichetta and Azelma were both helping customers. After a quick greeting to the women, Enjolras, Courfeyrac, and Combeferre went upstairs to find that a few of the Les Amis already were there. Jehan Prouvaire, Feuilly, and Bossuet were playing a game of cards at the table in the center of the room. When they heard the trio walk into the room, they looked up. 

“Hey gays! How was your summer?” Jehan greeted happily.

“Not bad. How was yours?” Combeferre asked in return.

“It was great! I visited my relatives in Nice and didn’t get sunburned at all,” They said triumphantly. Feuilly looked up from his cards to join the conversation.

“I just stayed at home for the majority of break. I read some books I’ve been meaning to but I had work for most of it.” 

“Unfortunately, I spent a lot of my vacation in the hospital,” Bossuet joined. “ I had appendicitis, broke my leg, broke my nose, tore my rotator cuff, and got food poisoning. But I got to see Joly a lot so that was great!”

“Well that’s nice, I think?” Courfeyrac commented. By this point a few other had showed up along with some people simply interested in their cause. Joly and Marius were carrying in posters and flyers while Bahorel had their signature banner over his shoulder. After they took their spots around the circular table in the middle of the room, Enjolras stood to start the meeting.

“To begin, I hope everyone had a great summer. A few announcements first; Feuilly, is directing Phantom of the Opera and auditions are on Thursday; Cosette is hosting a bake sale this Saturday, and finally, some of us are attending a pride parade in the next town over.

“Getting to business, tomorrow we will be holding a small demonstration in front of the new abortion clinic downtown. We are there to both make sure that the women who are their stay safe and to keep the people protesting at bay. While this is slightly ironic, it is still good for our cause. We are there primarily for protesting the laws that are still hindering women’s health. For tomorrow, I need a few to make sure the women who are there for the clinic get in there safe. The people who are going to be protesting against it are most likely going to be aggressive, people who have been vocal against us before. Feuilly, Bahorel, and Cosette; do you think you would be up for that?” The trio nodded and Enjolras continued.

“Perfect, the others will be needed to be aiding in handing out our information and the leaflets. I am giving a small speech in the beginning to address the lawmakers who are ignoring women’s health and if it’s possible, Jehan do you mind proofreading it?” The poet smiled and gave the leader in red a thumbs up.

“Thank you. Unless there are any questions, I believe that is all I have and I will see you all tomorrow.” With that, anyone who had come to observe left the room, some muttering about the meeting, most just walking out in bored silence. By that point all who were left were just the eight Les Amis. Even then, they began clearing out and making their way back to their dorms to prepare for the next day. Enjolras gathered the few notes he had and followed Combeferre and Courfeyrac back to their flat. 

The boys finished unpacking their stuff after they got back. While Combeferre and COurfeyrac began re-watching  _ Sherlock _ , as they do at the beginning of every semester, Enjolras set to work writing his speech for the coming day.


	4. The Rally

A brick flew out of the crowd and hit Enjolras square in the chest. The peaceful protest switched instantly into a violent riot. Enjolras doubled over in pain but straightened out just as quick and tried to calm the crowd. However, the damage had been done. One of the men who had instigated the riot fought his way to the makeshift stage. He and Enjolras grappled until they both toppled to the ground. Enjolras winced when the large man landed on top of him. The student shoved him off and stood up. As Enjolras wiped some of the blood off of his face, he wondered how things had gotten so out of hand.

Things were going moderately well at the beginning of the rally. The Les Amis met some of the women and helped encourage them. The trio of Cosette, Feuilly, and Bahorel helped make sure that the growing crowd of protesters left the women alone. The others gave pamphlets to some passersby until more people joined the crowd listening to Enjolras’ speech. However, things quickly turned ary as the les amis were discovering. 

After he had slipped his attacker, Enjolras tried to find his friend. Unfortunately, the crowd had transformed into a mob and he was quick trampled. He curled into a ball in a futile attempt to protect himself until a strong grip pulled him out. Feuilly had come to Enjolras’ rescue and was half dragging him to the former’s truck. Feuilly helped ENjolras into the passenger seat before climbing in the other side himself. Enjolras was vaguely aware of what was happening.

“‘Enjolras! You with me?” Feuilly barked to get the leader’s attention. The blond nodded and Feuilly continued.

“Courfeyrac said that if we found you to drop you at the hospital ‘cause Ferre is on a shift. Even Joly suggested that after he saw the brick. Do you want help?” They had pulled up to the doors of the emergency room and Feuilly was staring expectantly at Enjolras.

The chief nodded again and muttered thanks before stumbling out of the truck and going inside the hospital.


	5. Enter Grantaire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Barricade Day everyone! I hope everyone had done something Les Mis-y today or at least had a song stuck in their head at some point. This is the last chapter for the next few weeks because after school's out I can post/write more frequently. Please leave a comment if you liked this chapter or if you want to see something specific in the next few chapters. Enjoy!

Grantaire was typing up one of his reports for school as the emergency room wasn’t particularly busy. However someone did come in before R could finish. He looked up and realized that the person who walked in just looked around, confused.

“Sir, do need help?” Grantaire asked. The blonde man looked over at him indignantly.

“No, ‘M fine. I just need to wait for my friend to leave so he thinks I  _actually_ got help,” he explained looking back out the window. Grantaire was even more confused after that answer than before. He looked over the guy again and realized that he was covered in blood and limping.

“Sir, are you  _sure_  you’re okay? I think I should get a nurse,” Grantaire persisted, standing up. The guy wiped some of the blood off his face and scoffed.

“I’m sure I’m fine. A few more minutes and I’ll leave.”

“Okay. Just explain what happened or I’ll get a nurse.”

“Fine. I was running a rally and then it turned violent and then the police involved. Fey dragged me back to the Musian and made Feuilly drop me off to find Ferre. But in about three minutes he’s going to leave, thinking that I actually went to Combeferre, and I can go home.” Grantaire stared at the blond man in mild shock. He quickly texted Combeferre ‘someone is asking for you in the ER’ and then looked back up.

“Okay, first, I think I  _have_ to legally call the police and second, I think you may have a concussion.  No one would actually pretend to get medical help so their concerned friends would go away.”

Before the guy could rebuttal, Combeferre came into the room.

“Enjolras? What the hell?” Combeferre shouted as he ran over to his friend. “What the hell happened?”

“Those assholes showed up again and some cops blamed us. Feuilly dropped me off but I’m fine,” Enjolras explained. Grantaire cleared his throat.

“Yeah, he looks like he’s going to fall over. And he was waiting for your friend to leave so he could go home,” Grantaire clarified. Combeferre glared at his bloody friend.

“Enjolras, I swear to god… Come on.” Combeferre all but dragged Enjolras in to room down the hallway. Grantaire tried to process everything that just happened when another person walked in with a crying six year old.

* * *

 

While he was on his break, Grantaire ran into Combeferre.

“Hey, how’s your friend? The one that came in earlier. I’m assuming that he wasn’t fine?” Combeferre laughed humorlessly.

“That’s a understatement. He had two broken ribs, a sprained ankle, fractured wrist, broken nose, dislocated shoulder, mild concussion, severe blood loss, and about two dozen lacerations. I swear, Enjolras is going to be the death of me.” Grantaire shook his head in astonishment.

“He was able to walk in, pretend that he was okay, and argue that fact with a stranger while he had all that?” Combeferre laughed again.

“Yeah, that’s Enjolras. He once gave a speech standing in a frozen fountain with a broken leg convinced that he just ‘slept wrong’.”  

“How is he still alive?”

“That is a question that I ask everyday.”

* * *

 

When Grantaire’s shift was over, as he was leaving, he noticed a certain blond limp down the stairs.

“Enjolras?” He asked, recognizing the idiot that came in earlier. Enjolras turned around with one arm in a sling, still looking deathly pale. He sighed and stopped on one of the landings and waited until  Grantaire caught up with him.

“Don't tell ‘Ferre,” Enjolras ordered. Grantaire just stared at him.

“Are you kidding? You were nearly unconscious with blood loss and a concussion three hours ago.”

“Exactly. Three hours. I’ve got to go see what happened with rally, if anyone got arrested, how much public damage control needs to be done, see if anyone is pressing charges or threatening us again and see who else got hurt,” Enjolras explained. While he still seemed like a strong wind would blow him over, Enjolras resonated an aura of dignity and power. Grantaire was close to agreeing with him but luckily someone else was able to distract them.

“Enjolras! For the love of god! I swear I will call Joly who will strap you down and force you to rest!” Combeferre shrieked from the top of the stairs. Enjolras cursed under his breath and glared at Grantaire before turning to deal with Combeferre.

“Ferre, please. Look, I’m fine. I need to go and deal with this.” Combeferre opened his mouth to argue but Enjolras was quicker. “And this isn’t just my hatred of hospitals. I have no idea what else happened. Courfeyrac just dragged me out in the middle of it. Please, just let me go home. You can even sic Joly on me. Just give me twenty minutes to make sure everyone’s okay.” Enjolras stared at Combeferre with his cerulean eyes. Combeferre growled at him but folded.

“Fine! But I’m forcing you to rest later and I  _will_ have Courfeyrac make sure you do. And if you even  _think_ about doing something ridiculous or dangerous, I’ll tell Joly.”

“Thank you, Ferre.

“C’mon , there’s no way you’ll get to the Musian without help.” Combeferre put his arm around his friend’s waist and continued down the stairs. Grantaire watched the red hoodie disappear around the corner, knowing that this wouldn’t be the last time he’d see the leader in red.

* * *

 

Combeferre drove both him and Enjolras back to the Cafe. The latter kept shifting uncomfortably and wincing at every bump in the road.

“You’re an idiot,” Combeferre sighed as they pulled into the parking lot. Enjolras smiled at him innocently.

“But I’m your idiot!” Combeferre rolled his eyes and shoved his old friend’s face away playfully. The pair walked inside and made their way up to where the les amis were meeting. When Courfeyrac saw them, he jumped up and hugged both of them. The others noticed them as well and made their way over.

“You okay, Enjolras? Courfeyrac said Feuilly had to drag you to the hospital!” Gavroche asked, looking scared.

“He’s fine, Gav. Nothing can keep the leader in red down for long!” Bahorel laughed and hit Enjolras shoulder causing him to wince. “Sorry,” Bahorel muttered.

“I’m sorry I had to leave. Is everyone okay?” Enjolras inquired, concerned for his friends.

“Everyone’s mostly fine. Couple cuts and bruises, a few twisted ankles; nothing awful,” Courfeyrac explained with a shrug.

“See, Enj? Everyone’s fine. I have to go back to the hospital but Courf, make sure he rests and doesn’t rip his stitches this time,” Combeferre ordered. With that, he turned and left again.

“Did I miss anything else that you didn’t want to tell Ferre?” Enjolras asked. Courfeyrac shook his head.

“Nah, it really wasn’t awful. The cops asked a few questions but since we were the victims this time, they really didn’t care about our issues. We were actually just getting ready to leave.” Enjolras nodded and followed Courfeyrac back outside. They drove back to their shared apartment. After they got inside, Enjolras instantly pulled out his laptop and notebooks and started writing one of his essays.

“Nope!” Courfeyrac interjected. He stole all of Enjolras’ work and abandoned it on the kitchen counter.

“‘Fey! C’mon, I have work to do!” Enjolras protested.

“Hey, don’t burst your stitches. Combeferre said to rest and I am not giving him a reason to guilt trip me! Ya think breaking a couple ribs would make you see sense!”

Still glaring at his best friend, Enjolras defeatedly took a seat on their couch and turned the TV on. Satisfied, Courfeyrac vanished into the kitchen and reappeared a few minutes later with two steaming mugs filled with hot chocolate. He passed one to Enjolras before taking a seat next to him. Courfeyrac grabbed the remote and flicked to history channel. Within the first five minutes of a documentary on the ocean, the chief was fast asleep. 


	6. Mandatory Coffee shop Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am finally done with school and yet the workload is still there. Four books, several essays/outlines, marching band practice and family but at least there will be more free time to procrastinate. Thank you to the people who've left kudos and please comment!

Grantaire was picking up his coffee that he needs to start the day when he noticed a familiar mane of blond curls. Upon further inspection, Grantaire confirmed his suspicions

“Enjolras, right?” he asked. The leader in red turned around and smiled at Grantaire.

“Yes! I don’t think I ever got your name.”

“Grantaire.” R offered his hand and Enjolras shook it. “I’m glad you seemed to have made a full rebound.” Enjolras laughed lightly as Grantaire took a sip of his coffee.

“Yeah, mostly. It only took about four dozen death threats from Combeferre.” Grantaire snorted and hot coffee sprayed out of his nose. He hastily grabbed a wad of napkins to clean it up. He felt his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Grantaire glanced over at Enjolras. After a brief moment of awkward silence, the blond god started laughing. R chuckled a little but kept blushing.

“Are you okay?” Enjolras asked, still laughing slightly. He handed Grantaire a napkin. Grantaire nodded quickly.

“Yep. Yes, I’m fine.”

“I should probably go set up for the meeting. I’ll hopefully see you there.” With that, Enjolras shouldered his bag, grabbed his cup, and left. Grantaire waited until the bell on the door stopped ringing before speed dialing his roommate, Jehan.

“Hey R, what’s up?” the red-headed poet asked.

“I completely screwed up in front of _him_!” Grantaire groaned.

“Oh come on! It can be that bad.”

“I spilled coffee out of my nose.”

“Oof That’s rough.”

“Yeah an-” Grantaire stopped short.  When Enjolras had handed him the napkin, he also gave Grantaire a flyer with a quickly scrawled name and number in the corner.

_Enjolras 05.92.5.673.30_

“Ya still there, R?” Jehan asked from the other end.

“Uh, yeah, so where’s this meeting?”


	7. We Need to Stop Meeting Like This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise that I have some longer chapters in the works but I actually forgot to write a chapter seven and wrote this in about an hour. I will hopefully upload at least two longer ones in the next week. Chapter Ten will be up by the end of August and Chapter 15 will be posted by October/November but marching band has been a thorn in my side and I'm also working on a Sander Sides fanfic. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave kudos/comments if you liked it!

Grantaire had just finished his last class for the day and was riding his skateboard down the sidewalk. In all fairness to Grantaire, he did have a very rough day as well as his earbuds in and blaring. All in all, it wasn’t really surprising when he collided with someone. In a flurry of papers, both him and another were on the cement. Grantaire groaned, making sure that nothing was damaged save for a few scrapes and bruises. He looked over to take his anger out on the person who got in the way. However, he was met with a familiar fluff of blonde hair. Enjolras sat up wincing and rubbing gravel out of a few bloody scrapes. Grantaire rolled his eyes.

“We need to stop meeting this way,” He said as he got up and offered a hand to Enjolras. The other student took it gratefully and brushed his hair out of his face. 

“You’re telling me,” Enjolras huffed. He started to gather the papers that were now fluttering around the sidewalk. Grantaire helped Enjolras collect some before noticing what they actually were. It was the same unhelpful flyer that he was given at the coffee shop. 

“You know that these don’t actually say  _ where _ the meeting is, right?” Grantaire pointed out. Enjolras finished picking up the last flyer and looked it over. 

“Shit, you’re right,” He sighed. “I completely forgot about that.” Grantaire felt a little bad for pointing it out when he noticed the other paper in Enjolras’ hand.

“You got a  **_35_ ** on that?!” he exclaimed in shock. Enjolras gripped the failed math test tighter and glared at Grantaire. 

“Thank you for pointing that out Grantaire, I had no idea. I really appreciate that.” Grantaire splayed his hands out in surrender and handed the papers he gathered when one caught his eye.

“Is this...is this a restraining order?” Enjolras snapped his head up and ripped the paper away from Grantaire. He looked away before muttering a small explanation.

“My dad.” Grantaire started at him with horror.

“Your  _ father  _ got a restraining order on  _ you _ ? What did you do?” Grantaire blurted out. Enjolras quickly wiped his eyes before looking back up at Grantaire.

“ _ I _ did nothing. He pulled some strings and both disowned me and than this. Needless to say, it’s been a rough day.” Grantaire felt bad for Enjolras but he had no idea how to help. 

“If it makes you feel better, you’ve got someone else to join in your crusade,” he offered gesturing to himself. To his surprise, Enjolras’ spirits seemed to be lifted.

“Really? That’s great, Grantaire! We definitely want more people involved and I feel like you’ll be a great addition!” He said smiling. Grantaire blushed slightly but quickly added a joke to cover the mood.

“If I stick around, I might be up for making a better poster. One that’s actually useful,” He quipped. Enjolras laughed and he looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“Thanks Grantaire. I’ll see you later.” With that, Enjolras made his way down the sidewalk leaving Grantaire a blushing mess holding a skateboard.


	8. The Revolutionary and the Cynic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote something! Next chapter should be up next week! I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave kudos/comments if you liked it!

Grantaire wandered into the Cafe Musain on Tuesday after his classes. The room had a central table where eight students were gathered around it while about a dozen other people hung around the edges. He ordered a beer and took a seat in the corner of the room. Within five minutes, Enjolras stood in front of the room and called order to the meeting.

“Thank you all for joining us. The topic of today’s meeting is for planning a small pride festival. As a group, we are hosting a pride festival with the aid of the Musain. The purpose of today’ meeting is to gather ideas as well as assign jobs. To those of you who are not a member of the Amis, we greatly appreciate all ideas and volunteering however today is primarily a working session with not as much group discussion. To get to the point, is there anyone willing to make posters to advertise the festival?”

Grantaire downed the rest of his drink and raised his hand. “I’ll do it.”

Enjolras looked over at him and smiled. “Thank you Grantaire.” He scribbled his name down in a notebook and addressed the room again. 

“For the rest, the best idea would be to work in pairs. I need two people to help with the legalities of it.” Combeferre and Marius volunteered for that.

“Preferably two MCs for the day of as well as plan the events.” Courfeyrac and Cosette’s hands shot up and the pair high fived as Enjolras added their names to the roster. 

“One person to run a booth that will sell things as a fundraiser and another two to run a booth on physical and mental health.” Jehan offered for the first and Bosseut and Joly signed up for the medical booth. 

“And finally, three people to be there in case it goes south.” Feuilly, Eponine, and Bahorel grimmly agreed for that.

“I believe that is all we need for now. The rest of the meeting will be for working on those jobs and creating plans.” With that, everyone broke off into their own committees and began working. By this point most of the people who were not apart of the Les Amis had left. Grantaire put his earbuds in and started sketching in his notebook. Unfortunately, as mentioned in the last chapter, it had been a rough day and Grantaire’s creativity had decided to clock out early today. He spent five minutes gnawing on his pencil, about ten staring at this one cat that was prowling across the window sill, and a good fifteen clicking his tongue (much to the dismay of Eponine, who was scrolling through tumblr). Finally he decided to watch Enjolras plan with Courfeyrac and Cosette. The revolutionary was radiating an aura of leadership and passion. In Grantaire’s eyes, he looked like the Greek god, Apollo in his golden glory. He also was the perfect muse. Grantaire began sketching and got lost in his drawings until Eponine whacked him with her hat.

“Hey Van Gogh, meeting’s over.” Grantaire glanced up and wilted when he saw that Enjolras had already left. Courfeyrac caught him as he was leaving.

“Hey we’re going to be back here tomorrow at six. Welcome to the Les Amis.”

* * *

 

The following day, Grantaire dropped his bag at his spot in the back room of the Musian. He pulled out the box of flyer sketches and made his way over to Enjolras. The revolutionary was going over some of the other notes and paper work for the parade.

“Hey Apollo,” Grantaire greeted with a smirk. Enjolras turned around seeming to lose a little bit of his tension.

“How are you R?” he asked with a smile.

“Well, I’m not dead. I have the posters.” Grantaire handed the folder to Enjolras. The latter flipped through them with a look of awe. The drawings were several rough sketches of the amis with the captions, ‘Coming Together Is A Beginning. Keeping Together Is Progress. Working Together Is Success’.

“Grantaire, these are _amazing_!” Enjolras gushed. The artist raised an eyebrow.

“Really?” 

“You did see our old poster, right?”

“Fair enough,” Grantaire conceded. Enjolras’ laughter made Grantaire blush to his roots but he hoped that it was unnoticeable. However, their conversation was cut short when someone came up behind Enjolras and wrapped his arms around the student. Enjolras tensed before he turned to face the other. The man looked about their age with slick black hair and sharp features. Enjolras’ smiling expression flipped to an annoyed grimace.

“Really, Parnasse?” he chided, slipping from the young man’s grip. Grantaire realized that he was no longer needed and he returned to the group. He leaned over to Courfeyrac to whisper a question.

“Who’s that?” he muttered. Courfeyrac followed Grantaire gaze. When he saw who Grantaire was asking about, he made a sour face and elbowed Combeferre who mirrored the expression.

“Montparnasse,” Courfeyrac growled threateningly. 

“Enjolras’ boyfriend,” Combeferre explained. “They’ve been dating for a few years now and-”

“And we all hate it! He is both in a gang and a massive asshole. He does nothing for Enjolras and it’s nothing but a toxic relationship!” Courfeyrac huffed indignantly. 

“Why did they even start dating?” Grantaire asked as he watched Enjolras and Montparnasse have a hushed but aggressive argument.

“Well, they’re kind of similar. They met back in our first year and Enjolras was as passionate as is his now and Montparnasse was a slick talker. He approached Enjolras with interest in the group and stayed to flirt with him,” Combeferre explained long sufferingly. 

“Enjolras was much more ‘trusting and hopeful’ and less ‘steely and sass’ then,” Courfeyrac added bitterly. By this point, Enjolras and Montparnasse’s argument was getting quite heated.

“They broke up shortly after second year started because Enjolras found out that Montparnasse had joined a gang called the Patron Minette. But, by the end of that year, Parnasse _claimed_ that he left and didn’t do anything illegal. They’ve been explosive ever since.” The gossiping trio glanced back over to the qurael to catch Enjolras flipping off Montparnasse. The blonde god stormed away from Montparnasse leaving the gang member snarling in the background. 

Enjolras took a moment to collect himself before addressing the Les Amis.

“Alright, so quick recap. Pride festival at the end of the month. Jehan had a great idea to make it halloween themed and we are definitely running with it.” The others congratulated Jehan and Enjolras continued. “Today is a working session with focus to get as much done as possible. Finally welcome Grantaire to your first official meeting as part of the les amis.” More congratulations followed and  Courfeyrac lept up to the front as Enjolras took his seat. 

“To explain to Grantaire, every work session we play a drinking game where every hour that you don’t complete something you take a shot. The fun part is that science has helped make it so that each person should be legally drunk by the end of the night. Also every shot you take you pay two dollars or just tenbucks at the start of the day.” Everyone dispersed into their groups, dropping money on the table as they went. Courfeyrac leaned over to Grantaire and added more information about the “productivity” game. “Typically, the people who don’t play are Combeferre who judges, Joly because alcohol doesn’t mix with meds, and of course, Enjolras.”

“Enjolras?” Grantaire asked. Courfeyrac looked at him as if it was the most simple answer in the world.

“Yeah, he’s sober. Never drank once.” He continued at Grantaire’s look of confusion. “You’ve heard of his dad, right?”

“Touche.” Grantaire started working on the drawings and got lost in his own world again. Every hour Musichetta handed out shots and by seven, everyone was sufficiently buzzed. Enjolras checked in on Grantaire around the time when Jehan fell asleep on the windowsill. 

“Hey R, how’s everything going?” 

“Not bad. I was wondering if you could tell me everyone’s sexuallities. I want to make the different backgrounds the flags.” Enjolras lit up at the proposal.

“Sure! I’m gay, Combeferre is demi, Court is pan, Joly is poly, Bossuet is poly too, Feuilly is bi along with Bahorel, Eponine is bi too, Cosette is Pan, Jehan is non binary and pan, we have a lot of pan people in hindsight. Or as Courfeyrac so tastefully put it 'we have enough pans to fill a kitchen',” Enjolras continued talking about his friends and it slowly evolved into the plans for the festival. Grantaire let him go off simply because he loved watching his talk. While this seemed odd to others, it was quite common. Enjolras was a very animated speaker and spoke with enough empathy to make anyone feel the emotions being told. While Enjolras was talking about his friends, he emitted a sense of pure joy and comfort. However he was intruded by the final round of drinks.

“I should go check on the others. It was good talking to you R!” Grantaire downed the drink and finished drawing the posters. 

Finally, by the end of the night, the only sober acting people left were Combeferre, Joly, Enjolras, and Grantaire.

“Needless to say, Grantaire wins tonight,” Combeferre announced even though most of them weren’t really processing it. The others slowly dispersed and Grantaire gathered his artwork. As he was leaving the Musain, Enjolras showed up next to him on the way out.

“Hey, R, great job with the posters so far!” He complimented. Grantaire simply shrugged.

“It’s not that much of a challenge. The Les Amis are quite inspirational.” Yet again, Grantaire’s comment got a laugh from Enjolras.

“I never would have thought that. Especially tonight.”

“Yeah, that was definitely quite an experience. You did paint them in a great light when you were telling me about them though.” Enjolras glowed with pride.

“They really are amazing. The Les Amis work so hard and they don’t get enough credit for it.”

“That’s quite a reputation to join into.”

“Why do you think you’re part of it?” Before the conversation could continue, Montparnasse made a reappearance from out of an ally. 

“Hey Lexi,” Montparnesse greeted, wrapping a hand around Enjolras’ waist. Enjolras sighed but kissed his boyfriend on the cheek.

“You know I hate that nickname,” he complained but Montparnasse ignored him. Enjolras pressed on, seeming slightly upset. He craned his next back to see where Montparnasse came from and instead found Claquesous amd Brujon coming out behind them. “Why were you in an ally with _them_?” Enjolras accused.

“Come on Lexi….”

“Don’t call me that and aren’t they part of the Thenadier’s gang?” Montparnasse rolled his eyes.

“Rel-”

“No, you said that you were done with them, ‘Parnasse!”

“This is my apartment,” Grantaire blurted out as they came to a stop in front of a building. Enjolras and Montparnasse glared at each other while Grantaire stood awkwardly to the side.   
“See you tomorrow R,” Enjolras said without break his steely glare. Grantaire nodded and then turned and went inside his building. As soon as he shut the door, he heard the pair arguing rather intensely. Grantaire waited until the voices faded down the street before he went upstairs. He had a suspicion that this would be a topic of discussion tomorrow.

* * *

The next day, Enjolras was running late to the meeting. A murmur of concern rooted itself amidst the assembled Amis. About twenty minutes after they were supposed to have started, the door swung open and slammed shut again as the leader in red stalked in.  He had an aura of pure loathing around him. The others exchanged confused looks until Enjolras started the meeting. 

“On the agenda for today, we have-” When Enjolras looked up, the Les Amis gasped in shock. Across the left side of Enjolras’ face, a giant black and blue bruise was blossoming evolving into a black eye accompanied by a scabbing split lip. Instantly, all of them began clamoring at once. Enjolras raised his hands in surrender as Combeferre handed him an ice pack from the first aid kit. 

“What the hell happened?” Courfeyrac asked again after the others quieted down. 

“Apparently Montparnasse never left the Patron Minette,” Enjolras huffed. “In all fairness, he looks just as bad.” Before the others could comment, Enjolras continued right where he left off.

“We have to review the work that was done last night. Let’s start with the posters. Grantaire, were you able to finished them?” After getting over the initial shock, Grantaire nodded.

“Uh, yeah. Everything’s printed,” He said handing Enjolras a folder with the papers. When he opened them, Enjolras smiled for the first time that day.

“Okay, if we all take five and hang them up we should be able to spread them out.” He passed them out to the others who still looked a bit uneasy. However after the others saw the drawings of themselves representing their sexuality, they were momentarily distracted.

“These are amazing, Grantaire!” Jehan gushed and the others added overlapping compliments. Grantaire flushed slightly but beamed nonetheless. Enjolras smiled at Grantaire and pressed on. However, Grantaire stopped listening by this point and was trying to ignore his blushing face. Under the table, he texted Eponine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit to https://permit-it.tumblr.com/post/170798266542/grantaire-enjolras-made-me-feel-things-eponine for the text message at the end.


	9. Take A Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea why I'm posting more now than pretty much ever but I digress. Enjoy this chapter and please leave comments/kudos if you did!

Grantaire was interrupted from his studying by faint sniffling followed by a harsh cough coming from the other side of the library table. After a few minutes of this repeating cycle, Grantaire looked up annoyedly to tell off whatever idiot had had the nerve to come to the library. Unfortunately, he recognized the idiot in question. Enjolras was sitting across from Grantaire looking paler than usual and the circles under his eyes were twice as dark. He turned and coughed painfully into the crook of his elbow but nonetheless, he never stopped reading his text book. Grantaire sighed and cleared his throat. Enjolras glanced up.

“Is everything alright, Apollo? You don’t seem well,” Grantaire prompted. Enjolras rolled his eyes.

“I’m _fine_ , R. I just really need to study for these tests.”

“I need to study too, but I can’t do that while your dying over there.” 

“I’m not dying, I’m studying.” Before the pair could continue their argument, Enjolras fell into a coughing fit. When Enjolras finished, he was gasping for breath. Grantaire’s annoyance melted to concern when he saw that  Enjolras pale face was now sporting bright fever spots. 

“That’s it. Neither of us will be able to study while you’re like this.” Granatire closed his book and grabbed his coat. “C’mon, I’m taking you home.”

Enjolras glared at him. “What?”

“My apartment’s only two blocks away. With the broken bridge and the snow, it would take an hour to get back to your apartment and, no offence, but you look like you’re either need to lay down or you’re going to fall down.”

Enjolras opened his mouth to respond but instead, he doubled over in a coughing fit again. Grantaire nodded his head.

“Case in point. C’mon.” Dejectedly, Enjolras packed his books into his bag and pulled his red jacket on.  He and Grantaire made their way out of the library and down the street.

By the time the pair got to Grantaire's apartment, Enjolras was dead on his feet. Grantaire guided the other student to his couch and all but shoved him on it. He left to get medicine from his bathroom cabinet and by the time he came back, Enjolras was curled into a ball on the couch, fast asleep. Grantaire smiled in spite of himself before taking a picture and sending it to Combeferre, updating him on the situation. 

A few minutes later, the medical student responded. 

IMAGE

Grantaire looked over at the sleeping revolutionary and he almost looked peaceful. The cynic draped a red fuzzy blanket over Enjolras before heading off to bed for the night

 

The next morning, Grantaire rolled out of bed and meandered out into the small living room. He was about to go make his necessary coffee for the day when he passed the sleeping Enjolras on his couch. Grantaire stopped short and back tracked to the resting god. The cynic reviewed the events of the previous night before remembering what happened. He retrieved the medication and thermometer from the bathroom. Grantaire knelt down in front of Enjolras and saw how bad the blonde god looked. His face was ashen save from burning fever spots and was covered in a sheen of sweat. Each breath rattled in his chest and shivers racked his body. Grantaire felt his heart wrench as he took in the depleted form of his leader in red. 

 

“Enj,” Grantaire whispered shaking his shoulders gently. Enjolras’ blearily opened his fever glazed eyes. 

 

“Ferre?” He croaked. Grantaire helped Enjolras Sit up. 

“It’s Grantaire. We came back here after the library last night. You fell asleep as soon as we got here. Ferre said to take your temperature,” Grantaire explained. Enjolras nodded vaguely not really comprehending much of what was said. Grantaire slipped the thermometer into Enjolras’ mouth who didn’t protest. Even from the brief contact with enjolras’ skin, Grantaire could feel the heat radiating from his skin. The device beeped and Grantaire checked almost immediately panicking. 102.76 was alarmingly high to him and Grantaire sent a quick message over to Combeferre asking for guidance. 

* * *

 

When Grantaire looked back up, Enjolras was dozing off. 

“Hey!” Grantaire snapped his fingers in front of Enjolras face and the revolutionary winced sitting up. He glared at Grantaire who looked apologetic. 

“Sorry, but I need you to stay up to at least drink water and get into pajamas.” Enjolras nodded slowly. Grantaire grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen and handed it to Enjolras. 

“Drink at least half of this,” Grantaire ordered before heading into his room to get Enjolras’ pajamas. (As an official induction to the Les amis, Courfeyrac gave him a box full of emergency supplies for dealing with everyone. Couf was known for keeping emergency kits for when his friends are feeling sad and Grantaire was elected to be his backup up. He was entrusted with smaller versions of those kits. This includes a bag for sad Enjolras. In said bag, there were; a copy of the 5th Percy Jackson book, a DVD of Moulin Rouge, a set of France pajama pants, a giant/old phantom of the opera tee shirt, a written list of suggested songs and discussion topics and the red blanket that was used earlier in the story.)

Grantaire returned with the clothes and Enjolras had drinken some of the water like Grantaire asked. The former handed the sick student the clothes and showed him to the bathroom. A few minutes later, Enjolras came back out and curled back up on the couch. Grantaire wrapped Enjolras in the red fleece as well as another comforter from his closet. The leader in red curled up next to Grantaire before the cynic could get back up. Enjolras was shivering even though heat was radiating from him like a fire as he nuzzled closer to Grantaire. 

“‘M cold Ferre,” he whimpered softly. Grantaire though his heart was going to pop out of his chest. 

“Not Combeferre and I can't give you anymore blankets or you’ll have a heat stroke.”

“You’re warm.” Grantaire got his heart rate under control and pulled Enjolras into an awkward half hug. 

“At the meeting, don’t let fey run it, ‘member to pass out the posters, an’, tell R ‘m sorry bout the library. He’s a really cute human an’ I feel bad,” Enjolras slurred tiredly. Grantaire nearly choked. 

“What was that Enj?”

“R’s good, Ferre. I like him.” With that, Enjolras burrowed deeper into Grantaire’s side and fell asleep. Grantaire felt his cheeks turn a bright red and couldn't suppress a smile. He also realized that he was stuck in that position until Enjolras moved or was in a deep enough sleep. Carefully, Grantaire grabbed a book from off the table and started reading.

* * *

 

By the time Enjolras stirred, Grantaire had read _Blood of Olympus_ cover to cover. The sickly student was muttering and whimpering in his sleep. Grantaire got up to retrieve the water bottle and shook Enjolras’ shoulder to rouse him. Enjolras’ bright blue eyes were bright with a fever and welled with tears. 

“Hey, you okay Enj?” Grantaire asked gently. 

“R?” Enjolras muttered. He stood up next to Grantaire dazedly and ran a hand over his face. “What…”

“You’re sick. Ferre told me to watch you until  the roads cleared up. How are you feeling?”

“I think I’m fine. I really want to shower though.” Enjolras still looked weary but he was looking better than Grantaire had seen him the whole weekend.

“Yeah that’s a good idea, I think. Uh, yeah,” Grantaire stuttered mildly embarrassed. Enjolras muttered a small thanks before going into the bathroom. Grantaire was in the kitchen making coffee when he heard a crash coming from the bathroom. He ran over and pounded on the bathroom door. 

“Enjolras!” Grantaire shouted. No response. “Enjolras! Are you okay?” Still no response. Not seeing another option, Grantaire forced open the door to find Enjolras unconscious on the floor. He rushed over to the unconscious student to find him burning up. Grantaire scooped Enjolras up and moved to the couch then immediately called Combeferre.

“Hey R, how’s-”

“Unconscious. Enjolras passed out and he’s burning up. What should I do?”

“Okay, Grantaire, _relax_. Panicking won’t do any good. If he doesn’t wake up in a few minutes, then you can worry. Try and keep him cool and when he does wake up, keep him hydrated and try to get him to eat something. This happened last year, he has the worst immune system. Let me know if he gets worse. THings should be cleared up by tomorrow and I’ll get him then,” Combeferre instructed. Grantaire took a deep breath and nodded.

“Okay, I’ll keep you updated.” After Combeferre hung up, Grantaire turned on the fan and got a cool washcloth from the bathroom. He sat next to Enjolras on the couch and wiped his forehead but he was still clearly running a concerningly high fever. Just as Combeferre predicted, Enjolras came to within a few minutes. Groaning, the blond revolutionary sat up and looked at Grantaire with fever glazed eyes. 

“Hey, Apollo, how are you feeling?”

“Like a raging dumpster fire,” Enjolras admitted. “What happened?”

“You fainted before you could shower. So much for being fine, huh?”

“Miss me?” Enjolras smirked. Grantaire laughed, a bit of panic fading away.

“Of course sleeping beauty. Wanna watch a movie?” Grantaire offered as Enjolras leaned against the corner of the couch. 

“Sure.” Grantaire got Moulin Rouge out of the ‘Enj-mergency’ (as courfeyrac called it) bag and popped it into the DVD player. Grantaire made two mugs of tea before returning to the The other student shifted next to the artist as he shivered. Enjolras was very sedated throughout the whole movie but remained awake for most of it. Grantaire got him to drink a little water and by _Roxanne_ , Enjolras surrendered to sleep. The artist pressed a hand to the sleepy student’s cheek and was relieved to see that the fever broke. Enjolras hummed slightly as he leaned into Grantaire’s touch. The latter felt his heart skip a beat but elected to ignore it. Just before the credits on the movie rolled, Grantaire fell asleep too. 

* * *

 

Grantaire was awakened the next morning by a knock on the door. In an instant, he remembered that Combeferre was coming to pick up Enjolras. Grantaire jumped up and went over to answer the door. Combeferre smiled at him, looking a little disheveled and highly sleep deprived in his hospital scrubs.

“Hey R, how’s Enj?”  The student in question peaked his head up at the noise and the sudden lack of heat.

“He’s doing better I think,” Grantaire shrugged. Enjolras sat up fully and looked over to Combeferre.

“Hi, ‘Ferre.” He shuffled over to the door and grabbed his bag from the Friday before. “Thanks, R.” Combeferre ran a hand over Enjolras’ forehead and frowned slightly.

“Yeah, you’re not going into school tomorrow,” he decided. Combeferre ran his hand through Enjolras’ hair before putting an arm around his pale friend. “Let’s get you home. Thanks again R.” With that, Combeferre led Enjolras down the hallway and Grantaire was left to go and text both Jehan and Eponine about the wild weekend he just dealt with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit to https://whumpster-dumpster.tumblr.com/ for most of the fever whump in this chapter; https://juanjoltaire.tumblr.com/ for combeferre's image, and https://www.deviantart.com/meg-giry/art/Enjolras-Sleeping-365481331 for the sleeping Enjolras image


	10. A Little Fall of Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ****This is a rough chapter with quite a bit of gore, death, and swearing so be fore warned.****  
>  Chapter 10 is officially done and I also have a total chapter count now so that is exciting. Hopefully, I can get at least 2 chapters more posted by the end of the summer but we'll see. Please leave kudos/comment!

The day for the pride parade could not have been better. The Les Amis had coordinated their costumes as characters from Hamilton. The rundown goes: Cosette  as Peggy, Éponine as Eliza, Courfeyrac as Angelica, Grantaire as Maria, Bahorel as Hercules Mulligan, Feuilly as John Laurens, Combeferre as Lafayette, Bossuet as Aaron Burr, Joly as George Washington, Jehan as King George the Third and Enjolras as Alexander Hamilton. 

Once everything was in full swing, Grantaire began setting up a small face painting booth. Everyone else seemed relatively calm and enjoying the peaceful celebration. That is Everyone except for Enjolras. The leader in red was highly stressed and rushing around. 

“Relax Apollo, everything's going to be great,” Grantaire reassured Enjolras, after checking that all of the paint was okay. Enjolras seemed to actually listen to him and took a minute to breathe. 

“Hey, can you paint a pride flag for me?” He asked. Grantaire nodded quickly. 

“Yeah sure. On your cheek?” Enjolras nodded and sat across from Grantaire. The artist dipped his brush in the red paint and gently held Enjolras’ face as he began painting. His heart was about to jump out of his chest being so close to the man he admired, loved and ventured. The voice in the back of Grantaire's head told him to pull it together and finish the flag but he kept getting distracted by Enjolras’ sapphire eyes. Finally, after almost ten minutes, Grantaire finished the rainbow flag on Enjolras’ cheek. 

“Done. Wanna see?” Grantaire held up a small mirror so that Enjolras could see the finished work. 

“It looks amazing, Grantaire!” Enjolras complimented. The artist beamed. 

“Glad you like it,” he said with a smile. Courfeyrac came over, sashaying in his blue colonial dress. 

“Hey Enj, don’t stress but we have a small, tiny problem. Apparently, some people who may or may not be part of Thenadier’s gang may or may not be harrassing Cosette and Jehan,” he said quickly bracing himself for the flurry of panic from the leader in red.

“Shit, who? I swear to god if it’s Montparnasse…”

“It is. And Claquesous and Babet from the looks of it,” Grantaire added looking over. Jehan was trying to pull the crafts away from the Babet and Claquesous whilst Cosette was keeping Montparnasse away from a group of girls. Enjolras stormed over to them leaving Grantaire and Courfeyrac to follow behind.

“Get the hell out of here,” Enjolras growled at Montparnasse as he pulled him behind the tent.

“Hey, Lexi. Long time no see. Glad to see that black eye healed.”

“I’ll say it one last time. Get. The hell. Out.”

“Or what? You’ll write an essay? Or maybe just go running to -” He was cut off by Enjolras decking him square in the face. 

“Fuck you!” Montparnasse cursed as he stumbled backwards. Enjolras simply glared at him until Babet came around the corner. He swung a fist at Enjolras but Grantaire stepped in and separated them before things could get worse. Things were almost to a point where they could get back on track until a gunshot rang out.

* * *

 

Enjolras jumped at the sound and spun around to find the source. Behind him, where the sound came from, he saw Azelma and time froze. She was facing him and clutching her stomach as if she was going to be sick. Her face was ashen and had a look of terror as blood oozed from between her fingers. As time restarted, Enjolras rushed forward to catch her as she fell. She began coughing and blood sprayed Enjolras as he held her closer.

“Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” Enjolras tried desperately to reassure her. Tears were free falling down his face as he sobbed. Azelma worn a surprising mask of calm for someone who was dying. 

“It-it’s o-okay, Enjy,” Azelma stuttered as more blood trickled out of her mouth. She tried to wipe the tears off of Enjolras’ cheek but only smeared more blood. She gave him a weak smile as her breaths became labored. 

“I’m so sorry,” he cried. The world around them was silent as the other stopped to watch the marble lover of liberty crack over the young, dying girl. “We can get help. Someone can help you. We can save you,” he pleaded. 

“Don’t, don’t be s-sorry. You can do more than, than I can, you need to survive,” she explained. Before she could go on, she started coughing again. More blood came as she gasped for breath. 

“Hey, just breathe. You’re going to be okay. Okay? You’re going to be fine, okay?” His voice cracked with emotion. He held her closer, ignoring the blood that was seeping out of the wound. Azelma was shuddering with attempt to breath. Nonetheless, she smiled sleepily at him.

“Good luck,” were the last words of Azelma before she let out one last shaky breath. The ghost of her sweet smile played on her lips as her mismatched eyes stared without seeing. Enjolras could do nothing but stare in despair at her lifeless form as emotions spilled over. His hands shook as he gently shut her eyes. Blood aside, she might have been sleeping. The world was silent. Enjolras vaguely heard his friends around him but none of it registered. He felt Cosette come up behind him, pull him away from Azelma’s body and into a tight hug. The others ran over as the shock of what happened faded away. Musichetta held Eponine back as the ambulance arrived. Cosette had to leave to talk to the police and find the shooter. Grantaire made his way over to Enjolras and put a hand on his shoulder.

“You okay?” He asked gently. Enjolras looked at him and Grantaire’s heart wrenched. He was covered in blood and tears were streaming down his face. He shook his head and buried himself in Grantaire’s chest.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Grantaire said soothingly but in reality he had no idea how to react. He hugged Enjolras tightly but that didn’t last long.

A police officer asked Enjolras to come with him for questioning and lead the blonde away. Grantaire watched helplessly and wondered how the day turned so horribly wrong. 

* * *

 

Enjolras waited in the office pacing in circles. After nearly half an hour, a tall man in a grey suit with slicked back hair that was the same color. His expression was stoick and stolid. He looked the same as a vulture does when it finds it’s next kill.  Enjolras stopped moving and glared at the man. They stared at each other for a few moments; one with malice the other with ferocity. 

“Aléxandre,” The man said cruelty. 

“What the hell do  _ you _ want?” Enjolras snapped. The man sneered.

“Is that anyway to talk to your father?”

“You don’t give a shit about me. Why should I care about you? You had me ‘taken in for questioning’ on “suspestion of murder”, which we both know is bullshit, for no reason at a place were I was doing good, which is more than you ever done.”

“You and your friends were complaining loudly in costumes about issues that don’t concern you. I did you a favor.” Enjolras scoffed and shook his head.

“I can’t believe you. Your  _ lawyer _ said you wanted to disown me and you chose  _ now _ to do it. After what just happened?”

“You just need to sign a paper. Nothing that would take too much time.”

“You’re unbelievable,” Enjolras scoffed.

“Come now Aléxandre, it's not that bad.”

“Really? Fuck you.” Enjolras’ father had the audacity to look offended.

“I’m  _ sorry _ ?”

“Fuck. You. You are a fucking asshole. You had your  _ goons _ show up and turn our peaceful festival into a fucking blood bath that ended with my best friend getting fucking murdered!” Enjolras broke down sobbing at this point but his father looked indifferent. 

“Grow up, Aléxandre. People die. Especially street dykes who-” 

Enjolras decked his father. The older man stumbled backwards. In that moment, things were so tense that it could stop a bullet. Enjolras was covered in blood, shaking, and looking murderous up at his father, who was standing at his full height and giving a look that could cut steel. It would have been disastrous if Grantaire didn’t come in at that exact moment. He looked lost, terrified, and confused in his dark red dress.

“I was told to just come up…” He glanced between the two men. “I’m here to get Enjolras,” he added with finality.

The leader in red scribbled a quick signature on the legal papers and dropped them at his father’s feet.

“Fuck you.”

With that, Enjolras stormed out of the room, more of a hurricane with skin than human.

* * *

 

A few days later, a small funeral was held for Azelma Thenadier. Only the Les Amis and few of her classmates attended. Her parents did even both to show up. It was a small and quiet event. Everyone chipped in to cover the expenses. After the burial, Enjolras lingered for a bit. He laid a wreath on the fresh soil and read over the gravestone. “Azelma Thenadier, beloved friend and daughter. 19 years old, soul lost too soon.‘There is nothing like a dream to create the future.’” Eventually, Combeferre came back to get him. 

“It’s time to go, Enj,” he said softly. “Want me to drive you home?” Enjolras shook his head but didn’t move. Combeferre sighed but left anyway. Enjolras looked up as Combeferre met Courfeyrac at the sidewalk and the two disappeared down the street. He looked at the gravestone on last time and whispered, “I’m sorry.” before leaving to go face the world without his friend.


	11. Patria

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Chapter done! School starts in a week so this might be one of the last for a few weeks. Also Moulin Rouge Cast Album is out and it is amazing!! Please leave kudos/comments if you like it!

Enjolras was walking back from Azelma’s funeral. There had been a small wake for her, then burial. He was taking the long way back to his apartment because he knew that was where everyone was. The pain of losing Azelma was still fresh and he felt tears start to form in his eyes just thinking about her. He ducked into a side ally as the tears began to fall freely down his face. Enjolras slid down the brick wall of one of the buildings. He buried his face in his knees and let all the emotions of the last few days spill out. In the midst of all the emotion, Enjolras heard a small whine next to him. He looked up for the source of the sound. Next to him, he found a small, black kitten. The animal looked half starved but it had a look of indignation on its face. Enjolras just stared at the cat and it stared back. The kitten let out an unhappy meow and pawed at Enjolras’ leg. Enjolras was not in the mood for dealing with anyone. He tried to shove the animal away but the cat was persistent. As Enjolras continued drowning in his emotions, the kitten forced itself into Enjolras’ lap. He sat up and glared at the cat. As it started purring, he chuckled softly. 

“You _are_ kinda cute,” he said quietly. The kitten meowed in agreement and climbed inside Enjolras’ black blazer. He scooped up the kitten and cradled it gently. He carefully slipped it into his messenger bag. He collected himself before finishing his walk home. When he got in his apartment a few of the others were there. Courfeyrac squeezed his shoulder but Enjolras shrugged it off.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” he muttered before making his way into his room. He was able to contain the tears until he closed the door. Enjolras was both physically and emotionally exhausted from the past few days. He dropped his bag on the ground as he collapsed on the bed. He would have stayed like that until morning, but was interrupted when a hiss came from the bag. Enjolras cursed to himself as he remembered the kitten. He pulled the fuzzy creature from his bag and but her in a box on his desk with an old tee shirt to pad the bottom. Satisfied, the cat curled up as fell asleep. Enjolras was quick to follow as he laid on his bed, letting himself drown in sorrow.

The next morning when Enjolras woke up, he was reluctant to move from his bed. But, yet again, the kitten came to his rescue. She started to meow impatiently and Enjolras got up to keep her quiet. He pet her softly before an idea came to mind. He quickly called Eponine before slipping the cat into his pocket.

“ _Hey Enjolras, what can I help you with at dick-o’clock in the morning_?” Eponine greeted.

“Hi ‘Ponine, do you still work as a vet tech?”

* * *

 

After he returned from the vet, Enjolras brought the kitten back into his room and placed her on his bed. He pulled out the bag of litter, poured it into a small box, and left it on the side of the room. He also poured some of the cat food into a small bowl and placed it next to it. The kitten leapt off the bed and padded over to the dishes. Enjolras flopped onto his bed and opened his notebook to get started on homework. A half hour into his work, Enjolras was interrupted by a furry mass curling up on his book. Enjolras sat up and glared at her, clearly irritated. As much as he wanted to be annoyed, Enjolras couldn’t keep his anger for long. He rubbed the cat’s head affectionately. 

“I guess if I’m going to keep you, you’re going to need a name,” he thought out loud. “How bout Patria?” The kitten purred in response as if agreeing to the name. Enjolras smiled and looked at the time. 

“I have a bad idea,” he muttered, putting Patria back into his backpack before leaving for the Les Amis meeting.

Unfortunately, Enjolras was running behind after making sure Patria was quiet. He came in a bit late and kept one hand on his bag the whole time. They almost finished it like normal when the bag let out a yowl when Courfeyrac dropped it.

“What the hell?” he yelped as Enjolras snatched his bag away. He pulled out the tiniest black kitten any of them have seen. 

“Oh my god! That is the cutest little thing!” Jehan squealed. The others clamored around her and Patria purred happily. 

“Where did you find here?” Combeferre asked. 

“In an alley. I took her to the vet,” he added at Joly’s panicked look.

“Attention all!” Courfeyrac announced to the room, climbing on the table. He lifted up Patria like she was Simba.

“This cat!” He started before looking at Enjolras for a name.

“Patria,” he said quietly.

“Really?” Courfeyrac sighed before continuing his spiel.

“Patria is hereby the official mascot of the Les Amis de L’ABC!” The others cheered and Enjolras smiled brighter than Grantaire had seen him in a while.

* * *

 

    Within a week, there was another rally turned south. Grantaire scrambled to get out of the way of mounted cops when he saw a certain blonde curled into a tight ball, trying to avoid the boots pummeling him. Grantaire surged forward to help the leader in red but someone grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him down to the side walk. When Grantaire got back up, Courfeyrac was next to him, dragging the artist away. Later, at the Musain when everyone reconvened, Combeferre left as soon as Enjolras was shown to be unaccounted for. About two hours later, he returned, still lacking Enjolras. Combeferre gratefully accepted a beer from Courfeyrac before regaling everyone with the story. 

“Well Enjolras is in the hospital. He had his ribs broken again as well as a few other things. He should be out within a few days,” he reported to the group. After that, the Les Amis conceded that they couldn’t do much and went home for the day. Grantaire checked his phone and realized he could kill two birds with one stone and went to the hospital.

Before his shift, Grantaire stopped by Enjolras’ room. He knocked on the door and heard a faint ‘come in’. On the bed, Enjolras looked worse than Grantaire thought. His arms were scraped up and the left side of his face was covered in nasty scratches accompanied by black and blue bruises. He winced as he sat up once Grantaire made his way in the room. 

“Hey Apollo, how’re you feeling?” He asked gently. Enjolras just shrugged. 

“I’ve been worse. How’s everyone else? Did anyone get hurt?” Of course Enjolras was only concerned with his friends. 

“Nope. You hold that title.”

“What about your cheek?” Grantaire’s hand brushed the side of his face that got a little scratched up after Courfeyrac tackled him to the sidewalk. 

“It’s nothing, just a battle scar courtesy of the sidewalk. Do you need anything while I’m here?” Enjolras bit his lip as he always did when he had an inner debate (not that Grantaire paid attention to that). 

“Yes actually. This is going to sound weird but can you feed my cat?”

“The cat?”

“Yeah. I found her after…” he trailed off but Grantaire got the point. _After the funeral_. “She was near death but she’s now living in my closet and Combeferre doesn’t really know about that part so I was hoping you could feed her?” Grantaire would have said no if it was anyone else but there were two things that made him say yes. The first being that it was Enjolras and the second being that he was looking like a kicked puppy.

“Yeah, sure,” Grantaire agreed. Enjolras’ battered face broke into a wide grin.

“Really? Thank you, R!”

“Anytime. Feel better, Apollo.” Grantaire smiled at the leader in red again before leaving. He made his way to Enjolras’ apartment and tried the door. To his relief, it was open. Fortunately, no one was home so Grantaire made his way into Enjolras’ un-lit room. Just as he was told, there was a small cat bed and litter box but, no cat. Grantaire cursed and looked around the room for the animal. Luckily he found it. Unfortunately, it was on a shelf above him and the cat pounced on him. Grantaire yelped and shoved the kitten off of him. He quickly poured some of the food into a bowl and closed the bedroom door again. 

“I am _never_ dealing with that thing again,” he huffed, leaving the apartment.

* * *

 

Grantaire came by to work on the posters with Enjolras. When the pair went into the living room, Patria instantly began hissing at Grantaire and climbed up on to Enjolras’ shoulder.

“She’s quite protective, huh?” Grantaire commented annoyedly. Enjolras laughed, making Grantaire’s heart skip a beat.

“Yeah, that’s one way to put it,” Enjolras laughed again, petting the kitten affectionately. He placed her on the couch softly. “I’m going to get the supplies, I’ll be right back.”

The moment that Enjolras left the room, Patria hissed at Grantaire and jumped on him, clawing his arms. Grantaire yelped and tried to pry the cat off of him. After nearly two minutes of shredding, Patria jumped off of him and curled up on the couch just as Enjolras came back.

“Sorry that took so long but these should- what happened?” He asked abruptly, looking at Grantaire’s bloodied arm.

“Patria,” Grantaire huffed. Enjolras put the art supplies down and pulled Grantaire into the kitchen. He gently cleaned up Grantaire’s arm while the artist just stood in surprise. Enjolras winced in sympathy as he held a paper towel to the bleeding scratches.

“I’m sorry about that. Are you okay?” he asked gently. Grantaire snapped himself out of his daze.

“Yeah, it’s fine, really,” he said quickly, pulling his arm away. He cleared his throat and pulled out his phone. “Do you want to make those posters?” Enjolras nodded.

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” he agreed, leading Grantaire back to the living room. The pair started drawing out some of the flyers while Patria was adamant about walking exactly where Grantaire was drawing.

* * *

 

“Please Enj,” Jehan pleaded as Grantaire walk into the Musain the next day. Enjolras chewed his lip ( _Don’t stare, don’t stare, don’t stare,_ Grantaire told himself) but nodded reluctantly. 

“Okay, you can bring Patria,” he said with a small smile. Jehan squealed happily and hugged him little before running out.

“What was that about?” Grantaire asked. 

“Jehan’s visiting family next week and he wanted to bring Patria because his sister works at a pet spa thing,” Enjolras explained quickly. “And I have an essay to focus on and I don’t want to forget to feed her or something.” Grantaire smiled at him.

“You are a really good friend. I mean you make the rest of us look bad especially since I’ve been using Bossuet’s Netflix for seven years now,” he joked. Enjolras laughed but his phone buzzed.

“Thanks R. I’ve got to go. I’ll see you later,” he said happily. Grantaire stared lovesick as Enjolras left and Eponine took this chance to drop an ice cube down his shirt.

“What the hell was that for?” He yelped, turning towards his friend. 

“Because you’re being a Marius.”

“Shut up, ‘Ponine.”


	12. Like A Goldfish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't wait to post this so it's going to be the last one for at least a week and then it'll get sporadic because school, yay. Please comment and leave kudos if you like it!

It had been a full week of Combeferre and Courfeyrac being away. No one had seen Enjolras until the Les Amis meeting. Grantaire was the first to show up and found Enjolras hunched over his laptop. 

“Well, if it isn’t the sun god himself,” Grantaire joked as his greeting.

“Hello Grantaire,” Enjolras sighed in response. “You’re early.” Grantaire checked the time and raised an eyebrow.

“Nope, actually. It’s six o’clock,” he said slowly. Enjolras checked his phone and sighed. He staggered to his feet and winced slightly. 

“Hey, are you alright?” Grantaire asked, immediately switching from teasing to concern. Enjolras looked up at him for the first time that day and Grantaire’s heart wrenched. He was looking much paler than usual with darker circles under his eyes. He seemed completely exhausted. As for his stumbling, he was keeping all of the weight off his right foot and clutching the table tightly. 

“I’m fine, R,” he said before coughing harshly into his elbow. 

“Yes, you’re a figure of health,” Grantaire scoffed. “Come on Enjolras, let’s forgo the charade and just tell me what is wrong.”

“I just fell down the staircase,” Enjolras mumbled in answer, avoiding eye contact with Grantaire. 

“I’m sorry,  _ what _ ?!” Grantaire asked in shock. “You  _ ‘just fell down the stairs’ _ ?” He thought for a moment before continuing.

“You’re a goldfish,” he concluded.

“Excuse me?” Enjolras asked, looking at him with extreme offense.

“The instant the people who take care of you are gone, you die,” he explained which only got him an angry glare. 

“What the hell, R?”

“Am I wrong? Within two days of Combeferre and Courfeyrac being gone, you fell down the stairs and ignored it and I’m going to guess that you haven’t slept or eaten either,” Grantaire defended. He was rewarded with an undignified pout from Enjolras.

“I’m not a  _ goldfish _ ,” He huffed. “But yeah, maybe I’m not the most attentive person on earth. Sue me.”

“Come on, I’m going to take you home,” Grantaire instructed. Enjolras just stared at him.

“Why?”  
“Because you missed the meeting,” Grantaire said, grabbing Enjolras’ laptop. “It’s Wednesday.” 

Enjolras opened his mouth to respond but checked the date on his phone and cursed.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. Grantaire smiled at him and wrapped his arm around Enjolras’ waist. The revolutionary blushed a bright pink but Grantaire just smirked.

“I don’t even want to know how you got here but I do know that you can’t get back without help,” he explained. Enjolras nodded as the pair started their way home. When they got to the trio’s apartment, Grantaire left Enjolras on the couch and grabbed Combeferre’s first aid kit from the bathroom. He came back out to the living room and Enjolras was working on his laptop.

“Okay, so the deal is that while I’m here, you don't work,” Grantaire explained, taking the computer away.

“You don’t have to do this,” Enjolras said, looking slightly embarrassed. 

“I know,” Grantaire said without looking up as he gently pulled off Enjolras’ boot. He winced in sympathy when he saw the swollen ankle. 

“Yikes. You shouldn’t have walked on this at all, you’ve got a sprained ankle. You’ve got to keep off of it for two weeks,” Grantaire instructed as he wrapped it in an ace bandage. “I’m guessing you guys have ice packs?” Enjolras nodded and Grantaire went to get one from the freezer. When he came back, he caught Enjolras starting to cry silently.

“Hey, what’s wrong, Apollo?” He asked gently, sitting next to him on the couch. Enjolras shook his head and wiped his eyes.

“I shouldn’t need help like this. Without Ferre and Courf, I’m just… useless,” he sighed sadly. “It’s stupid.” 

Grantaire hugged him gently before cupping his cheek.

“You’re not useless or stupid, Enj. Yes, you can take better care of yourself but as long as you don’t, I’ll take care of you,” he said gently. Enjolras sniffled slightly.

“It’s rotten work,” He said quietly. Grantaire gave him a sad smile and gently tucked a curl behind his ear.

“Not to me. Not if it’s you,” he replied, finishing the quote. Enjolras smiled softly before looking away quickly.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure. I’m going to run out to get some human food that’s not ramen or lunchables. I mean really Enj? Lunchables? C’mon,” he joked, winning him a light laugh from Enjolras. “But seriously, when was the last time you actually ate real food?” 

Enjolras thought for a minute before Grantaire held a hand up.

 “Normal people don’t need to think to answer that question. I’ll be back in fifteen,” he told him with a small smile. 

“Okay, thank you so much R,” Enjolras said happily. Grantaire grabbed his bag and headed to the story. While Grantaire was gone, he went back to the essay he had been obsessing over. 

When the artist got back, he rolled his eyes at the incapacitated student.

“What was the deal?” He said, shaking his head.

“Technically you weren’t here,” Enjolras defended. “But I  _ will  _ stop now.”

“Good,” Grantaire said with a smile. “Anyway I got some more human food. There’s mac and cheese, dino chicken nuggets, frozen pizza, and tater tots.” Enjolras stared at him like he had grown a second head.

“What am I, 6?” He asked. 

“But am I wrong that you would eat them?” Grantaire shrugged. Enjolras rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. He tried to get up but Grantaire held him down on the couch with a hand on his shoulder. 

“I should help,” Enjolras protested. 

“Be easy,” Grantaire said gently as Enjolras sat back down. He gave Grantaire a small smile as the artist went into the kitchen. Thanks to the layout of the apartment, Grantaire could see that Enjolras wasn’t moving too much from his spot on the couch. He heated up some of the chicken nuggets and brought them out back into the living room. 

“Thanks R,” Enjolras said as he took one of the plates with a smile.

“No problem,” Grantaire responded, taking a bite of his food. Enjolras was about to as well but furrowed his brow slightly. Unfortunately, Grantaire noticed.

“What’s wrong? Is it still frozen?” he asked.

“It's kinda stupid,” Enjolras started with a sigh. “But I’m a vegetarian,” he admitted awkwardly. Grantaire tried to hide the shock on his face but failed miserably. 

“But, I could have sworn I’ve seen you eat meat at some point,” Grantaire said more to himself than to Enjolras. The latter looked down, embarrassed.

“It’s fine, I can go get something else.” he added quickly.

“What part of ‘you shouldn’t walk’ do you not understand?” Grantaire said exasperatedly. “I’ve got it. I should’ve asked if you were vegetarian anyway. And that means more dinosaurs for me,” he joked. After a few minutes, he came back out of the kitchen with a microwave cup of Mac and Cheese. 

“Thank you,” Enjolras said in a small voice. The pair sat in silence for a few minutes before Enjolras spoke up again.

“We really don’t know each other, do we?” He said quietly. Grantaire looked up at him and shrugged.

“I guess not,” he responded before getting an idea. “Alright, wanna ask each other crappy ice breakers?” Enjolras looked at him like he was insane but nodded eventually.   
“Why not?”  
“Okay, I’ll start. What one song will you always know every word to?” He asked. Enjolras thought for a moment.

“ ‘Goodbye’ from Catch Me If You Can,” he responded.   
“Really? I never would’ve guessed. Your turn.”

“If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be?” Enjolras asked.

“Wherever you are,” Grantaire responded under his breath but not as quietly as he thought. Enjolras turned a deep shade of pink until Grantaire answered. “I’d like to stay in Athens. You okay, Apollo?”

“Yep, yes, I’m fine,” Enjolras said quickly. “I think it’s your turn to ask a question.”

“Okay. What’s your favorite time of day?”

“Probably sunrise. It’s just so peaceful and relaxing.”

“That’s an amazing answer. Your turn.”

“If you could commit any crime and get away with it, what would you choose and why?”

“I would want to overthrow the oppressive government,” Grantaire answered, popping a chicken nugget in his mouth. “ _ Just _ so I can do it before you.”

“Dick,” Enjolras laughed.

“I try. My turn, how did you sprain your ankle?” Enjolras winced at the memory.

“That’s not an ice breaker and the story is pathetic.”

“Try me.”

“So the day that Combeferre and Courfeyrac left, our neighbor’s dog broke away from her when she was going back inside and I stopped him but fell down two flights of the staircase in the process,” Enjolras admitted sheepishly.

“Wow, you’re just as much of a prince charming in the real world as you are in the meetings,” Grantaire teased before laughing. Enjolras blushed slightly before changing the topic.

“Thanks, I think. Next question, does your car have a name?”

“Don’t have a car,” Grantaire admitted. “I do have a bike named Fiyero.”

“A bike?” Enjolras repeated, cocking his head. “A motorcycle?”

“Yeah, how do you think I get everywhere in this sardine can of a city?” Grantaire quipped. “It’s fun. I’ll give you a ride one day,” Grantaire offered gently.

“I think that would be nice,” Enjolras said with a wide grin. Grantaire returned the smile for a minute before clearing his throat. 

“It’s late, you should get some sleep because I’m pretty sure that you didn’t get any this weekend,” Grantaire said, getting up. He threw out the paper plates and came back in as Enjolras was trying to walk to his room but failing and falling. 

Grantaire rushed over quickly and wrapped an arm around Enjolras’ waist to steady him. Enjolras grabbed Grantaire’s shoulder to stop himself from bringing them both down.

“You just don’t learn, huh?” Grantaire said lightly as he helped Enjolras the rest of the way to his room. Grantaire really didn’t know what he was expecting when he saw Enjolras’ room but it was not what he found. His room was completely empty save for an old twin mattress and a folding table acting as a desk. The walls were a barren gray and the window was boarded up. The closet door was broken and pushed back to reveal still-packed boxes. 

“Jeez, Apollo, this is like a horror movie,” Grantaire said before he could stop himself. He cursed himself quietly but Enjolras laughed lightly.

“Yeah, I’ve been told that before,” he agreed sheepishly. “I just don’t have anything to hang up or have time to do so anyway,” he shrugged. Grantaire shook his head slightly and helped Enjolras to his bed before leaving his laptop bag just out of reach.

“Really?” Enjolras pouted (which turned Grantaire an embarrassing shade of red) but Grantaire didn’t relent.

“You need sleep, Enj,” Grantaire explained gently. “Also, Combeferre would kill me if he came back and you were in this state. So, to save both our asses, get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow, Apollo,” He said with a smile before turning to leave.   
“Thank you, R,” Enjolras said quietly before burrowing under his dull blankets.

“My pleasure,” Grantaire responded softly before leaving. He cleaned up the kitchen a bit before starting his walk home.

* * *

 

The next morning, Grantaire took his motorcycle to Enjolras’. It had absolutely nothing to do with the conversation with Enjolras, contrary to Bahorel’s mocking. When Grantaire went into the apartment, he was greeted with crashing and muttered cursing.

“Apollo?” Grantaire called out in worry. He went into the kitchen and found Enjolras on the tile cursing and bleeding.

“Holy shit, Enj! What happened?” He yelped as he grabbed a napkin and knelt down next to the other student. The bleeding was coming from a cut down his arm looking on the edge of needing stitches. Grantaire applied pressure to the cut until the bleeding slowed down a bit. He took the first aid kit (which was still out from the other day) and wrapped the cut in gauze. When he was done, he cupped Enjolras’ face softly so the blonde had to look at him.

“Apollo, what happened?” he asked softly.

“I was trying to make a cup of coffee and fell off the counter and broke the cup,” he murmured sheepishly, nodding at the shards of porcelain. “And I know I should have been more careful because it’ll only make this worse and-”

Grantaire cut him off but hugging him tightly.

“You scared the shit out of me. I just want you to be safe for god sakes Enj,” Grantaire said quietly, pulling away from him gently. Enjolras nodded and smiled softly.

“Okay. I’m sorry,” He responded. Grantaire shook his head with a smile.

“What am I going to do with you?” He joked as he helped him up and over to the old couch in the living room. When they got there, Enjolras’ phone started playing "Friend Like Me" from Aladdin. He rolled his eyes as he answered.

“Hey Fey,” He greeted into the phone. He furrowed his brow as he listened to his best friend ramble.

“Woah, woah, Courfeyrac slow down.  _ What _ happened to Ferre?” Enjolras looked up at Grantaire worriedly. Grantaire gave him the best reassuring smile he could before Enjolras let out a strangled gasp and turned his attention back to the phone.

“Combeferre’s in a  _ coma?! _ ” He repeated in shock. Grantaire grabbed the phone and put it on speaker as Enjolras was frozen in shock,.

 “Courfeyrac, it’s Grantaire. What happened?” 

“ _ He… he got into a car crash the other day and broke his skull and he needed to go into a medically induced coma and broke his leg and nearly died of blood loss and you have to come up here, Enj… please, please. His mom hasn’t stopped crying and I’m so scared _ ,” Courfeyrac sobbed from the phone. 

“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Are you at his mom’s?” Enjolras asked quickly. 

“ _Yeah, please get here soon_ ,” Courfeyrac responded before hanging up. Enjolras ran his hand through his hair as he tried to get his panic under control.   
“Hey, Enjolras, listen to me,” Grantaire said, grasping Enjolras’ shoulders gently. “It’s okay. I’m sure Combeferre will be okay. I can drive you down there if you want,” Grantaire offered. Enjolras nodded gently. 

“That would be amazing Grantaire, thank you,” Enjolras responded before limping into his room. Grantaire followed close behind him. Enjolras froze after he collected his stuff.

“Wait, I thought you don’t have a car,” he said, turning to face Grantaire.

“Yeah but I have my bike here,” Grantaire explained before helping Enjolras out of the apartment. The blonde turned slightly pale but nodded all the same. “That  _ is _ okay, right?” Grantaire asked.

“Yeah, of course,” Enjolras said quickly. “I’ve just never done that before.”

“Don’t worry,” Grantaire said with a small smile. “I’ll be careful.”

Enjolras nodded again but switched his attention to not falling down the stairs again. Grantaire tightened his grip on Enjolras until the two got to the road. Grantaire got Enjolras on the back of his motorcycle and handed him a helmet as he put on his own. He glanced over at the blonde as he put it on and Grantaire was suddenly very grateful for his tinted visor. 

“Hold on tight,” he said with a smirk as he got on in front of Enjolras. The revolutionary moved closer to Grantaire and wrapped his arms around Grantaie’s waist. 

The artist’s heart leapt a bit realizing how close he would be with Enjolras for how long and he hoped they wouldn’t hit traffic. As soon as he started, the vehicle roared to life. Enjolras jumped lightly and tightened his grasp, making Grantaire laugh a little before starting down the road.

* * *

 

The ride wasn’t as bad as Grantaire initially thought it would be. Etretat was two hours away from Paris. It was actually peaceful with a beautiful sunset and Enjolras holding on to him. When they got to Etretat, Grantaire found the hospital thanks to Enjolras’ directions. Once Grantaire parked, Enjolras climbed off and pulled off the helmet Grantaire had lent him, sending his blonde curls tumbling out. Grantaire was staring for a moment before clearing his throat quickly. Enjolras tried the best he could to hurry inside but he caught his injured ankle on a rock and hit the ground a few feet from the door. 

“I’m not even going to say anything this time,” Grantaire called over to him but went to help him up regardless. Enjolras seemed to have warmed up to the idea of accepting help from Grantaire and forewent the argument. When the pair got inside, they were greeted by a very distraught Courfeyrac. He flung himself at Enjolras and began crying again. Enjolras stumbled backwards and winced at the pressure on his ankle but comforted his friend nevertheless.

“How’s Ferre?” He asked gently. Courfeyrac took a shuddering breath.

“They said he’ll be okay but I’m so scared. I thought he was dead when I first got here,” he sobbed. “I’m sorry you had to come but I don’t want to be alone with him like this.”

“I’m glad that you called me. I’m scared too, Fey,” Enjolras agreed before moving them to a couch in the waiting area. Courfeyrac leaned against him before he noticed Grantaire.

“Not to be rude but why are you here?” He asked thickly. 

“He gave me a ride,” Enjolras explained quickly. “I got a little hurt earlier this week and he helped me a lot.” Courfeyrac smiled slightly.

“So you rode on his motorcycle here from Paris?” Courfeyrac asked with a smirk. Enjolras rolled his eyes but smiled a little too.

“Yes. Was I the only one who didn’t know about it before this weekend?” Enjolras asked, changing the subject. Before Courfeyrac could comment, Combeferre’s mother busiled into the room.

“Oh Enjolras,” she greeted, pulling him into a tight hug. “I’m glad you’re here.” She turned back to Courfeyrac as well. “He’s awake, thank god.” The three students followed her down the hallway and into one of the rooms. Combeferre was sitting up in the bed looking like he had gone through a paper shredder. Small cuts littered every inch of visible skin and his leg was in a white cast. A fresh bandage was wrapped around his head but he was smiling nonetheless.

“Hey guys,” he greeted meekly. Courfeyrac practically jumped on him and held him tightly.

“Never scare me like that again, Ferre!” He said, lower lip trembling. Combeferre kissed Courfeyrac’ cheek gently.

“I won’t, Fey,” He said softly. Combeferre looked up at Grantaire and Enjolras, giving them a small wave.

“How are you, Ferre?” Enjolras asked in concern, leaning on Grantaire a little. 

“Not bad. Better that I’m conscious,” he admitted. “When did you guys get here?”

“We just did about five minutes ago,” Grantaire answered. 

“You don’t need to stay,” he told them. “Enj, I know you have a test on Friday and I’m sure you have things to do too, Grantaire.”

“You both can stay at home until the morning,” His mother chimed in.

“That’s not necessary, madme,” Enjolras argued.

“Nonsense!” She chided. “You are always welcome, Enj. You both can stay in the room next to Ferre’s. I insist,” she said with finality. Enjolras smiled at her.

“Thank you,” he said with a smile before turning back to Combeferre.

“Are you sure it’s okay if we leave?” He asked again. Combeferre nodded.

“Yes, and I believe you’re getting kicked out anyway,” he responded, nodding to the door where an angry nurse was waiting to shoo them away. After saying goodbye and left the hospital, Grantaire and Enjolras walked/limped back to the motorcycle. 

“You don’t have to stay tonight,” Enjolras said which Grantaire could have sworn was directed to the sidewalk.

“What?”

“I don’t want to leave them here like this,” Enjolras explained, still looking down. “Courfeyrac is a wreck and you saw Combeferre. I can retake my test next week but I want to be here for them.”

“Of course,” Grantaire responded, an idea brewing. “If it’s all the same to you, I’m still going to leave in the morning. I don’t want to take a two hour ride in the dark.’ Enjolras nodded in agreement.

“That’s definitely a better idea,” he said before putting the helmet on. “Ready?”

Grantaire smiled back before texting the Amis (aside from Enjolras). 

**R: Can y’all meet me at Enj’s tom night**

**Joly: What did you do now**

**R: I am offended I wanna do something good**

**Feuilly: I’m down. I’ll wrangle who I can**

**R: Thx**

 

Later that night, the duo got to Combeferre’s mother’s house. When they got up to the room that Mrs. Combeferre assigned to them, they only found one bed. Enjolras sighed lightly. 

“I can take the couch downstairs if you want,” he offered.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Grantaire said, trying to brush it off. “We could share? I mean that’s what we did in middle school on field trips, right?” Enjolras nodded and cleared his throat. He went to the bathroom to change into pajamas but when he came back, he turned a deep red. Grantaire was already in bed and scrolling through social media but he was only in boxers. He shook his head before walking over to the other side of the bed. Grantaire looked up and gave him a small, awkward smile.

“I didn’t think this was an overnight trip,” he explained quickly. Enjolras shrugged, trying to play it cool.

“Yeah, of course. We should probably get some sleep, then.”

“Yep. That’d be smart,” Grantaire agreed, leaning over to turn off the light. Both boys laid down, facing away from the other. After almost 30 minutes, Enjolras finally fell asleep. 

* * *

 

The next morning, Enjolras woke up curled up around a pillow. He would have stayed like that the whole day but the pillow started breathing. Enjolras slowly blinked his eyes open and found himself curled up against Grantaire’s chest while the latter had his arm around Enjolras’ shoulder. After the subconscious part of his brain that told him to stay next to his crush decided to step aside, his anxiety came in with a bull horn telling him to panic. He shoved away from Grantaire before he could think things through. Grantaire let out a frightened shriek as he fell off the bed. Enjolras jumped out of the bed and cursed.

“Oh god! R! I’m so sorry!” He yelped, helping Grantaire up. The artist laughed as he accepted Enjolras’ hand but forgot about the sprain and ended up pulling Enjolras down too. The blonde landed on top of Grantaire, his curls falling into Grantaire’s face. Both students blushed and Enjolras scrambled off of him. 

“Well this is quite a way to wake up,” Grantaire joked, getting up himself. He started to get re-dressed and Enjolras made a conscious effort to look away. Once Grantaire had all of his clothes on, he grabbed his helmet and started to leave.

“See you back in Paris,” he said to Enjolras with a smile. Enjolras grinned back and gave him a small wave. After he heard Grantaire drive away, Enjolras ran into Courfeyrac’s room. His friend was sitting up, looking at his phone. 

“Hey, you okay?” Enjolras asked. Courfeyrac shrugged.

“More or less.”

“I know something that will make you feel better,” he started. “I had to share a bed with R, who only wore boxers by the way, and woke up… I don’t know cuddling or something,” Enjolras muttered. Courfeyrac squealed before Enjolras could finish.

“How was the motorcycle ride?” Courfeyrac asked, teasingly. “I’m guessing you had to hold on to him the entire  _ two hour _ ride and had to deal with him in his whole ‘biker get-up’.” Enjolras buried his face in his hands hoping to hide his blush.

“Aww! Enjy has a crush!” Combeferre’s voice laughed in a sing-song voice from the phone in Courfeyrac’s hand

“Shut up!” Enjolras whined.

* * *

 

That Saturday, Courfeyrac, Combeferre, and Enjolras got back to their apartment. Enjolras was still limping and Combeferre needed crutches. After Enjolras helped get him get situated, Combeferre and Courfeyrac cuddled up together to watch a movie. Enjolras wanted nothing more than to just collapse on his bed and work on his essays but luckily for him, his night took a very different turn. When he went in his room, Enjolras’ jaw dropped.

The previously boarded up window was fixed with a window seat built off of the sill and had pale rainbow curtains. There was a roll-top desk sitting against one wall with all of his stuff in neat piles and small cactus plant on it. He had a new bed with red sheets and an actual bed frame. His closet door was fixed and his things put away in chest inside it. Multiple picture frames with him and the Les Amis dressed the walls accompanied by a painting of the Les Amis cockade against a tattered pride flag. Grantaire was standing in the closet, wrestling with the door.

“This is amazing,” Enjolras whispered with a smile causing Grantaire to turn around. 

“Hey Apollo, What do you think?” He asked, gesturing around the room. Enjolras grinned widely before hugging Grantaire. The anxiety part of his brain made an appearance again and Enjolras moved away from Grantaire. Both boys were grinning like mad. 

“Thank you so much! This is incredible!” Enjolras said happily.

“It was no problem. Everyone pitched in a bit,” Grantaire said with a shrug. “Jehan is the curtains and cactus, Bahorel helped move the desk, Feuilly made the bed frame, Joly filled the entire bottom drawer of the desk with enough medical supplies to stock a small hospital, Bossuet put all the pictures together, and Cosette organized the closet,” Grantaire rambled.

“So you did everything else?” Enjolras asked. “And organized the whole thing?”

“Yeah,” Grantaire nodded sheepishly. “I hope it’s okay.”

“Grantaire, this is absolutely amazing! I honestly can’t thank you enough!”

“What can I say? You just need a new tank, I guess,” Grantaire joked with a wink. Enjolras rolled his eyes but smiled anyway.

“Again with the goldfish?”

“Would you rather Goldilocks?” Grantaire was rewarded with a giggle from Enjolras.

“I’ll see you at the meeting. Thank you again,” he said, beaming. Grantaire smiled at him.

“It was my pleasure Apollo,” he said before leaving the apartment. Enjolras was stupid grinning when music came blaring from the other room.

“ _ Can you feel the love tonight? _ ”

“SHUT UP COURFEYRAC!”

 


	13. Into The Woods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! High school has been hell and marching band is a cult (but we won first yesterday plus all captions). However, I want to start writing more so updates should be happening again soon! Please leave kudos and comment!

“ **THIS** is why I said we shouldn’t go camping,” Enjolras huffed as he followed Grantaire deeper into the woods. They had been sent out to gather kindling for the fire but after two hours and chasing a deer, they were very lost. 

“Oh really?” Grantaire snapped. “This  _ exact _ reason? Getting lost in the woods for nine hours because you swore it was a left and not a right?”

“No! Because you chased a deer for a half mile and the fact that we’re lost in the woods in NOVEMBER when it’s 30 degrees is why I didn’t want to come!” Enjolras shouted back. Grantaire was about to say something but took a deep breath instead. 

“Alright. We’re not going to find our way out fighting,” he sighed. “The sun’s almost set so we should find somewhere to sleep for the night.” Enjolras wanted to argue but the cold was getting to both of them. 

“Fine. Where do you suggest?”

Grantaire looked around for a minute before pointing to a small rocky overhang. 

“That should work in case it rains,” he explained. Enjolras nodded and followed him up the dirt slope. Enjolras sat back against the rock wall and stared off at the sun sinking behind the trees, yawning softly. Grantaire sat next to him and tried to leave a decent amount of space between them. The two sat in awkward silence until Grantaire cleared his throat. 

“There’s not much we can do in the dark so we should get some sleep,” he suggested. Enjolras nodded tiredly before closing his eyes. Grantaire smiled in spite of the situation they were in as Enjolras’ features relaxed and his chest rising and falling gently. After a minute, Grantaire fell asleep himself. 

The next morning, Grantaire woke up freezing with Enjolras curled into his side. A bit of snow was falling and the revolutionary had a small dusting on top of his gold curls. Grantaire felt Enjolras shiver fiercely against him. He gently moved Enjolras so that he was still sleeping and rifled through his backpack hoping for something useful. He ended up with a failed math test, a nearly empty lighter, one and a half pencils, an empty water bottle, a copy of Magnus Chase that was three weeks overdue from the library, his notebook, a pack of Skittles, and his dead phone. Grantaire tried to build a small fire against the snowy wind. By the time he finally got it to light and  _ stay _ lit, Enjolras was slowly waking up. 

“Morning Apollo,” Grantaire said gently. Enjolras sat up and groaned after taking in his surroundings.

“We’re still lost. I almost forgot about that,” he sighed, shifting closer to the fire. He sat with his knees to his chest and watched the fire crackle. 

“How long do you think it’ll take them to find us?” He asked in a soft voice that was barely above a whisper. 

“Not too long. If we stay here, then it shouldn’t be that long,” Gratnaire offered. Enjolras chewed his lip but nodded.   
“Alright, what should we do now?” Enjolras asked. 

“Beats me. Wanna read this?” he offered holding the book up. Enjolras rolled his eyes but nodded and took the book. He flipped it open to the first page and began to read. Grantaire smiled and started to doodle Enjolras in his notebook. Hours past, and the two of them stayed like that until the sun set on their second day of being lost. Enjolras sighed and closed the book.

“Well, I can now repeat the entirety of Magnus Chase: Sword of Summer from memory, which is a good thing to have on a resume,” Enjolras said dryly. Grantaire laughed before smothering their fire. 

“I’m sure the others will find us tomorrow,” he said lightly and Enjolras gave him a small smile. He moved next to Grantaire and practically cuddled with him.

“For warmth,” he muttered before closing his eyes. Grantaire’s heart skipped a beat but he wrapped and arm around Enjolras’ shoulders.

“For warmth.”

*****

The next morning was even colder than the day before. Snow was falling heavily and the winds were whirlin it around signaling the coming blizzard  The ground was too wet for another fire so Enjolras and Grantaire opted to split the pack of skittles as they waited for the Les Amis.

“I’m going to try and find where we came from,” Enjolras said finally, getting up. Grantaire stared at him like he grew three heads.

“Are you insane? It’s snowing and we’ve been lost for two days now. What good would moving further away be?”

“I don't know!” Enjolras exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “I don’t know but I can’t just sit here and do nothing!” He ran a shaky hand through his hair before turning and storming off. Grantaire sighed and got up to follow him. He stayed a few feet away as Enjolras stumbled around clumsily in desperation. Unfortunately, Grantaire snapped a twig causing Enjolras to look behind him.

“Really R? Do you not trust me enough to-” He stopped short as Grantaire’s foot slipped and he toppled down the hill.

“Grantaire!” Enjolras shouted as he ran after him. He knelt next to Grantaire and cursed as he saw the bleeding gash on his forehead, coloring the snow red, and the concerning shade of blue his lips were.

“Shit,” he muttered as he pulled Grantaire up and half-dragged him back to their make-shift campsite. He gently laid the unconscious artist down against a fallen tree and tried to clean away some of the blood. As he did, Grantaire stirred with a small moan.

“Ange?” He murmured, shivering violently while snow piled up around them.

“Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay,” Enjolras said anxiously, pushing the artist’s hair out of his face. He pulled the freezing cynic close to him and wrapped the green flannel around the both of them. “I’ve got you.” Grantaire groaned softly as his eyes drooped.

“I am not letting you fall asleep when you’re dying of hypothermia,” Enjolras exclaimed in panic, shaking him gently.  “Just keep talking, okay R?” Enjolras looked up at him dazedly and nodded.

“ ‘bout what?” 

“Anything. How’s class been?” Grantaire prompted.

“I have this professor who.. Who thinks that Van Gogh was sham,” Grantaire slurred. Enjolras smiled as he shivered himself. 

“Really?” Grantaire nodded.

“Yeah, we’ve argued fif… fifteen times.” 

“I would have paid to see that!” Enjolras giggled.

 “You’re rubbing off on me,” Grantaire chuckled quietly in agreement and Enjolras relaxed a bit.

“There’s the Grantaire I know!” he laughed gently. 

 Grantaire smiled but was fading to the effects of the cold as Enjolras heard someone yelling faintly. He got up and pulled the injured student up with him. The artist stumbled a bit as Enjolras pulled him up the hill. He held Grantaire close to him as he looked for the people calling.

“Enjolras! Grantaire!” Courfeyrac called out as he came into view.

“Here!” Enjolras shouted back as he grabbed the backpack and helped Grantaire over to where Courfeyrac was.

“Holy shit! Enj! R! Thank god!” Courfyerac shouted, embracing the two of them. “I found them!” The other Amis came running over and hugged the freezing students.

“Jesus Christ, you both have to have hypothermia and you need to get your head looked at R!” Joly exclaimed in concern, handing Enjolras a sweatshirt.

“How the hell did you guys find us?” Enjolras asked as Combeferre pulled Grantaire over into a blanket he brought. 

“Sheer fucking luck,” Combeferre sighed. “Feuilly’s parked in his truck a few miles away. Let’s get you both inside.” Grantaire was semi-conscious and was able to follow them back to where Feuilly was. His teeth were chattering and he felt his limbs grow heavy again. When they got to the truck, Grantaire pitched forward into Enjolras’ arms and let himself slip into unconsciousness. 

*****

When he came to, Grantaire was asleep on the couch in Enjolras, Combeferre, 

and Courfeyrac’s apartment. He sat up groggily and Combeferre came over to him. 

“Hey R. How are you feeling?” He asked, handing him a cup of coffee.

“I’m not dead so I can’t complain,” Grantaire said dryly. “How’s Enj?” he asked, remembering the frozen state the blonde was in. Combeferre gestured to the old armchair in the corner of the room. A pile of red and black blankets were moving slightly as a blonde mod of curls peaked out from the top. 

“He’s going to be fine. He had hypothermia but he’ll be back to normal by Monday,” Combeferre assured him.

“Thank god,” Gratnaire sighed in relief. “That was a horrible experience.”

“I can’t believe we didn’t find you earlier,” Combeferre groaned. 

“It really wasn’t all that bad,” Grantaire lied quickly. 

“Grantaire you have been out for two days with a concussion and hypothermia. It was bad,” Combeferre reminded him.

“Really? That explains a lot.”

“Yeah.” Combeferre glanced back over at Enjolras with a small smile. 

“He was here the whole time you know.”

“What?” Grantaire asked.

“He refused to leave you until I promised him you would be okay. He just fell asleep 10 minutes ago for the first time since we found you guys. Speaking of which, you should get more rest R.”

          Grantaire's concussion-muddled brain tried to wonder why Enjolras would do that for him but the idea of sleep was just too enticing and he fell back asleep, leaving his feelings to be tomorrow’s problem.


	14. Friendsgiving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marching Band is finally over and I got around to editing this chapter so enjoy! Please leave kudos and comment!

Enjolras and Grantaire did not, would not, and could not talk about what happened on the camping trip. It was simply an unspoken rule. They did remained friends however. Jehan would say they were unwitting friends and Courfeyrac would argue that they were more than friends and Combeferre would whack him. The unlikely pair could be found in the Musain until the odd hours of the morning, either arguing about every trivial detail or in a lighthearted conversation that could be mistaken for childhood best friends. Enjolras had evaded every interrogation attempt by the Amis; there had been many. The first time he came home at three am, Courfeyrac was sure he was arrested and hit him with a pillow until Combeferre intervened 

Their friendship became less centered around fighting and more of simply being around each other. On more than one occasion, Enjolras would just show up at the Cafe, find an open seat next to Grantaire, and they would just talk. Talk about the annoying assholes in their classes, the latest essay they had, the case he was working on for mock trial, the red cardinal he saw earlier. The pair would just talk about everything that went on. No fighting, some friendly bickering and debate but nothing more. However, the amis believed it unlikely it would last. Grantaire was an argumentative cynic who it’s not surprising to be seen drunk or smoking despite working in a hospital. Enjolras was an aggressive debater who would not let anything go and has very specific requirements for a friend. Although, the two were getting along surprisingly well. 

One night, Grantaire came to the  Musain and found that Enjolras was there first. The student was furiously typing on his laptop. While this wasn’t an odd sight, Enjolras was looking a bit worse for wear as Grantaire slipped into the booth next to him. The leader in red barely noticed Grantaire but the artist was more perceptive. He noticed how bad the blonde was muttering under his breath and the dark circles under his eyes. 

“Are you okay Apollo?” He asked, surprisingly gentle. Enjolras looked over at him for a moment and shook his head weakly. 

“No,” He mumbled as he started to break down. “I-I have so much to do!” Enjolras whimpered, shaking from the stress. “I don’t have any time to rest! I have to finish organizing the next rally, I have to revise my essay – and Thanksgiving. Fey is holding it at out apartment, I need to help with dinner but I haven’t gone shopping and we’ve run out of – ”

“Shhh.” Ignoring Enjolras’ distressed protests, Grantaire guided him to lay down , coaxing the blonde to put his head in Grantaire’s lap, surprising both of them but neither argued. “It’s okay. Life can wait a little while. Just close your eyes and breathe. Deep breaths…In and out, that’s it.”

Grantaire played with his hair and Enjolras gave up his weak protests and was fast asleep in less than a minute. The artist smiled softly and covered Enjolras in his paint-covered hoodie. They stayed like that for a while until Madame Houcheloup told Grantaire that it was time to leave. Grantaire carefully slid Enjolras off of him and put away the dozens of papers scattered around the table along with the now-dead laptop. He slung Enjolras’ laptop bag over his shoulder and gently lifted the sleeping revolutionary up with ease. He carried him out of the cafe and to the library down the street. He knew Enjolras would be right back to work the moment he woke up and if his friends went looking, this is where they would find him. Grantaire settled him in one of the chairs at a desk in the back corner, his sweatshirt still draped over Enjolras’ shoulders. He smiled at the sight of Enjolras in a peaceful sleep before placing the laptop bag on the desk and leaving.

A few hours later, like clockwork, Combeferre and Courfeyrac found Enjolras and woke him up enough to get him home. He followed them home in exhaustion and barely remember what happened. When the trio got home, Combeferre confiscated Enjolras’ work and forced him to get more than two hours of sleep. Enjolras stumbled into his room and pulled the oversized hoodie on before falling asleep.

* * *

A few days later, the amis were assembled at the triumvarte’s apartment for their annual holiday. Of course, Enjolras volunteered to run out to the store after Bossuet dropped the brownies out the window on accident. Grantaire came with Joly and Bahorel and joined in the game of ‘Never Have I Ever’ until Enjolras came back. They heard muffled banging until the door swung open. 

“The one time I don’t knock…” He huffed as he balanced the several shopping bags and his keys. Grantaire looked up with a smirk but froze and blushed. Enjolras was in a huge green hoodie splattered with so much paint, it looked like an elementary school art room.

It was  _ his _ hoodie. The one he had lent him after the late night mental breakdown. Enjolras didn’t seem to care and Grantaire didn’t know if that was better or worse. He brought the bags into the kitchen and looked up at the others.

“Anyone want to help?” He asked. “And someone who  _ has not _ caused lasting damage to our kitchen?” 

Crickets. Instead Enjolras sighed and rolled his eyes endearingly.

“Fine, I’ll do it,” Grantaire said with a dramatic groan and glared at the others teasingly. “Heathens.”

Enjolras smiled and opened the bags as Grantaire came in. “First, I’ve got more Doritos because god knows how many we go through, another first aid kit because we were running low on supplies, and a few other important things. And then we’ve got peanut butter chocolate brownies for Courfeyrac, Bahorel, and myself; sugar-free and keto brownies for Combeferre and Feuilly; dark chocolate for Joly and Bossuet; and raspberry-chocolate ones for you,” he explained. Grantaire looked at him in utter shock. 

“How? Or at least why?”

“Well, Fey and Rel loved peanut butter; Feuilly and Fey are both diabetic; Bossuet is allergic to peanuts and Joly is lactose intolerant; and I know what you like,” he said simply. 

“How do you just know that right off the top of your head?” Grantaire asked in bewilderment. Enjolras shrugged and handed him a box.

“Well it’s the same every year, we don’t really change it because, you know, allergies and whatnot.”

“You guys really never change?”

“Nope, I’ve gone to the Musain only since freshman year because I know it. I know everyone who works there, everything they sell, when they’re open. It’s familiar; safe,” he said with a nostalgic smile. Grantaire grinned down at the bowl he mixing and spoke again before he could think. 

“But what about trying new things?” He asked. Enjolras sighed and bit his lip in thought.

“Because ‘new things’ could give Combeferre or Feuilly  hypoglycemia or send Boss into anaphylactic shock or give someone a panic attack or anything really,” he replied grimly. Grantaire shook his head in exasperation and took on of the pans from the counter. 

“Why don’t we make a deal? You agree to go with me to a completely new place and if it is  _ that  _ bad then you never need to go anywhere new.”

“And if it isn’t ‘that bad’?”

“Then you’ve got to go to at least one new place a month.”

“And why should I agree to this?” Enjolras asked with a raised eyebrow. Grantaire shrugged with a smirk.

“Why wouldn’t you?” 

Enjolras smiled at him and nodded. “Alright then, deal,” he replied as they both moved on to the second batch of brownies. In the other room, Courfeyrac started passing around a paper with bets. 

A few hours later, after dinner and all the brownies were distributed, they were back to playing Never have I Ever (with kool aid of course). They were 15 rounds in, both Grantaire, Courfeyrac, and Bahorel have had to restart and Enjolras was at zero. By this point, everyone was just saying things that could get Enjolras out, however untrue they may be.

“Never have I ever smoked?” Joly said and everyone, even Combeferre, had to take a drink and still, Enjolras shook his head. 

“Never have I ever put gum under a table,” Feuilly offered. 

“Who does that?” Enjolras asked in disgust.

“Never have I ever been caught cheating on a test,” Bossuet said. The look on Enjolras’ face was enough of an answer.

“ Never have I ever had a paranormal experience,” Jehan said wistfully and the others groaned. 

“ _ I _ could tell you that answer,” Marius replied.

“Never have I ever jumped from a roof,” Grantaire said.

“I have not done that and now I’m concerned about you even more,” Enjolras replied.

“Never have I ever had a treehouse,” he retorted. 

“Nope,” Enjolras said easily.

“What a sad childhood. Never have I ever danced in an elevator.”

“You have?” Grantaire looked at him with a fake pitying expression and Enjolras opened his mouth to argue.

“Never have I ever tried to cut my own hair,” Bahorel interjected to ease the tension. Jehan let out a strangled noise.

“You better never try that!” They threatened

“Never have I ever played Seven Minutes in Heaven,” Courfeyrac said, knowing the answer full well.

Enjolras blushed deeply at the suggestion and shook his head vigorously , curls bouncing wildly.

“Well then why don’t we move onto that instead of beating a dead horse?” He proposed innocently. The others nodded in agreement and exchanged knowing glances.

 “Enjolras, why don’t you have the honors of going first?” The leader in red glared at him but nodded.

“Why not?”

“Alrighty then! Here, I’ve got a bag for name drawing,” he said pulling out a black shopping bag. Enjolras reached in and grabbed the first slip of paper. He turned a furious shade of red and dropped the slip of paper in exchange for covering his face with his hands. Jehan grabbed the paper and burst out laughing before reading it. 

“Grantaire!”  Both Grantaire and Enjolras were bright red as the rest made a few teasing comments.

“Alright, you know the deal!” Courfeyrac announced, setting a timer. “Seven minutes; no phones; dark closet in the hallway, you know the one I’m talking about Enj; and you have to stay in no matter what.” 

Enjolras glared at him and stood up, grabbing Grantaire’s hand and dragging him into the room with the others trailing behind. He threw his phone at Combeferre, flipped Courfeyrac off, and pulled Grantaire into the closet as everyones else snickered.

Grantaire was barely processing anything. He let Enjolras bring him in to the closet and he was suddenly snapped back into reality. Now, in the complete opposite of before, he was noticing  _ everything _ . The closet was smaller than he thought and even though it was dark Grantaire could see Enjolras, who was barely a step away from him. He was blushing and playing with his hair in a  _ very _ cute way. 

“So…” Grantaire started and Enjolras looked up at him.  _ Observation #5, Enjolras was almost five inches shorter than him _ , he thought to himself.

“So,” Enjolras repeated. “Now what?” Grantaire thought for a bit before replying. 

“Well, traditionally-”

“Do not finish that sentence,” Enjolras threatened. The artist chuckled and rolled his eyes.

“You’re so cute,” he said before realising. Enjolras blushed deeper and shook his head.

“I’m really not.” The next thought that ran through Grantaire’s head was the record scratch sound effect.

“I’m sorry, but no. You  _ are _ cute. And there are a hundred reasons why! You get adorbly flustered and play with that one curl right behind your ear; you turn red at almost nothing; you bite your lip every time you think and-” he stopped, mortified when he realized what he was saying. He looked down at Enjolras for a reaction and was surprised. 

He was smiling. Ducking his head, blushing brightly, and smiling widely. Grantaire felt a rush of calm flood him and tucked a loose curl behind the blonde’s ear. 

“Am I wrong?” He asked quietly. Enjolras shook his head, still not looking up. Grantaire’s heart skipped a beat and he reacted in a way that shocked even himself.

Grantaire kissed Enjolras. 

It wasn’t much, they barely brushed lips. Grantaire moved away and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Enjolras was looking back up at him finally, wide-eyed and smiled after a minute. 

“Is this real or Courfeyrac’s doing?” He asked tentatively. Grantaire rolled his eyes and laughed softly. 

“And I thought  _ I _ was the skeptic,” he muttered and kissed him again, with more confidence this time. Enjolras backed up slightly, his back hitting the wall and he laid a hand on Grantaire’s chest. Grantaire reached up and started playing with his hair, earning him a small and adorable sound from the leader in red. He laughed softly and pulled away for a minute. 

“Like I said, cute,” he teased, still half-petting with him. Enjolras smiled and kissed him again, pulling him down with his arms around Grantaire’s neck and reaching a hand up to cup his cheek. However, they were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door that startled both of them; Enjolras so badly he accidentally hit Grantaire in the face. The artist swore loudly as blood poured out of his nose and stumbled back as the door opened. The others made several overlapping protests and jumped to separate the two. Enjolras stood back in mortification while Combeferre helped resting Grantaire nose and gave him a tissue. Joly proposed that he should take Grantaire home and the others filtered out not long after. Enjolras helped clean up, his mind still reeling from what happened. When he was finally kicked out of the kitchen after putting what was left of the mashed potatoes in the coffee pot. His thoughts were racing as he tried to sort through his emotions and ended up falling asleep easily for the first time in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> credit to https://whumpster-dumpster.tumblr.com/ for the melt down scene : )


	15. Melting Hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of my favorite chapters and I’m so excited to post this so please, like and comment if you liked it!!

          Enjolras was finishing cleaning up his notes from the meeting when Grantaire approached him. Grantaire seemed to be anxious when he came up to Enjolras, causing the revolutionary to look up. 

          “Hey R, everything okay?” Grantaire shifted nervously.

          “I was..um. I was wondering if you’d..want to…um, maybe...Gooutwithmetomorrow?’” Enjolras was slightly taken aback for a moment which only made Grantaire even more anxious. Then Enjolras broke into a huge grin. 

          “I’d love to!”

          “Great! Meet you here tomorrow here, seven maybe?”

          “Sure! That’s great!”

          “I’ll see you tomorrow then?” 

          “Yeah! See you tomorrow!” Grantaire gave one last smile before running out of the cafe leaving Enjolras beaming as he finished packing up his things.

          When Enjolras got home, he was still smiling. Unfortunately, his stupid grin didn’t go unnoticed by Courfeyrac. “What happened E? Did someone invite you to be a part of another revolution?” he asked with a smirk from his spot on the couch.

          “Hilarious, Courf,” Enjolras’ said rolling his eyes, but he blushed slightly. Ever observant, Courfeyrac was only egged on. 

          “C’mon Enjy, obviously something happened. I mean, the meeting was over a half hour ago,” Courfeyrac pressed.

          “Nothing! Nothing happened. I just had to finish cleaning up from the meeting,” Enjolras defended before escaping to his room as he turned scarlet passing Combeferre as he walked in the room.

          “What’s not happening?” he asked 

          “He’s hiding something,” Courfeyrac said, grinning mischievously. From the other room, Enjolras’ muffled voice called out.

          “ _ I AM NOT HIDING ANYTHIN _ G!”

***

          Enjolras left the theater around six. He had a show coming up next month and rehearsals were getting longer. He made his way back to his apartment to get ready for his date. However, when he got home, Enjolras found that Courfeyrac was still home. After he snuck into his room, he changed out of his flannel and into a white tee shirt and jeans. He left as quickly as he could, grabbing his messenger bag and signature red hoodie. Usually, Enjolras could avoid running into someone but his luck ran out today. He was halfway out the door when Courfeyrac walked into the room. 

          “Hey Enj, I was - where are you going?” Enjolras cursed under his breath and turned around trying to look innocent. 

          “Just heading out.” he responded nonchalantly. 

          Courfeyrac raised his eyebrow. “Uh-huh, sure. See you later then.”

          Enjolras turned and left without a second thought. He made his way to the Cafe Musain where Grantaire was waiting and sketching in his notepad. 

          “Hi,” Enjolras greeted, startling Grantaire back to reality as he snapped his book closed.

          “Hey! Ready to go?” Grantaire asked. 

          “Definitely!” Enjolras said, grinning ear to ear and taking Grantaire’s hand as the artist melted inside. 

          “What did you have in mind?” He asked and Grantaire smirked.

          “Have you ever been ice skating?”

          A little while later, the couple walked to the small lake in the park and Grantaire rented 2 pairs of ice skates. Enjolras glanced at the frozen water nervously as Grantaire came back. 

          “Hey, are you okay?” he asked, handing him a pair of skates,

          “Yeah I just…. Never learned to ice skate,” he admitted sheepishly. Grantaire silently cursed himself but shrugged, trying to play it off.

          “I can teach you, if you want,” he offered. Enjolras nodded with a small smile and Grantaire led him to a bench. 

          The boys got their skates on. Grantaire helped Enjolras to his feet and out onto the ice. Contrary to common belief, Grantaire was the more gracefully of the two. As god-like he was on land, Enjolras was stumbling and sliding like a duck on skis. One particular time, Enjolras hit a dent in the ice and nearly fell face first if not for Grantaire. He gently caught him and led him to a less populated part of the ice. Eventually, Enjolras regained his balance and the two guided across the ice smoothly. The night was quiet and peaceful. That is, until a loud crack jarred both of the boys. Enjolras and Grantaire barely had time to think when the ice beneath the, broke open and swallowed Enjolras into the ice water.

***

          Courfeyrac watched Enjolras leave and texted Jehan the minute his roommate left. 

**Fey: E just left, R?**

**Jehan: Just left for the Musain. I think they’re on their way to the park. I’ll pick you up :D**

          Courfeyrac laughed softly and grabbed his jacket.

          The two drove to the lake and parked a bit down the road. They wandered around the park until they saw the familiar blond and brunette. 

          “Aha!” Courfeyrac whispered triumphantly. Jehan laughed and flicked a bit of snow at them as they watched the pair rent their ice skates. 

          “C’mon, we should let them have their moment,” Jehan sighed happily.

          “Jehan Prouvaire, ever the romantic,” Courfeyrac teased. As the pair of them got up and turned to leave, the heard the shattering of ice behind them.

***

          Enjolras fell in slow motion. As he felt the ice beneath him shatter, he dropped into the dark water. The cold was merciless, every inch of him froze. His lungs burned as he tried to breathe and panic closed around his through as he struggled. In a last desperate attempt, Enjolras reached his hand up to try and grab anything. As he began to slip into unconsciousness, Enjolras felt someone grab back.

***

          Grantaire’s heart stopped as he watched Enjolras fall. In his moment of panic, Grantaire shot out a hand to try and grab him. Oddly enough, he felt Enjolras take his hand and he hauled him up onto the ice. He carried Enjolras to the shore as Courfeyrac and Jehan came running down. Enjolras’ face was pale and his lips were a concerning shade of blue. The most concerning part of it was that Enjolras wasn’t breathing. The world around Grantaire blurred as he realized that  _ Enjolras wasn’t breathing _ . He was snapped out of his daze when Courfeyrac called his name for the ninth time. 

          “GRANTAIRE!” Grantaire looked up and saw a woman with a medical bag making her way through the growing crowd. He moved slightly as the paramedic reached them but never let go to Enjolras’ hand. As soon as Grantaire moved, she began performing CPR until Enjolras started coughing up water. Grantaire let out a breath of relief, he never thought he’d be so happy to see those blue eyes. He pulled Enjolras into a bone crushing hug. After a moment to regain his bearings, Enjolras hugged back. After a long moment, the two broke apart and the paramedic wrapped a cut on Enjolras’ leg from the ice.

           Afterwards, Grantaire helped Enjolras up and followed Courfeyrac and Jehan to their car. Enjolras was still dangerously pale and shaking violently. Grantaire kept an arm around Enjolras and kept him close during the ride back to their apartment. Grantaire helped/carried Enjolras inside. Combeferre immediately took Enjolras once they got inside and dragged him into his room, lecturing him on being careful on thin ice. Courfeyrac went into the kitchen and made four steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Combeferre joined them on the couch a few minutes later.

          “He’ll be out in a minute. You know how stubborn he is. He tried saying he was “fine” then almost passed out,” he sighed as Courfeyrac kissed his cheek.

          Just as the med student predicted, Enjolras came out in a pair of fluffy pajama pants and one of Grantaire sweatshirts that was giant on him (Grantaire didn’t even know when he had the chance to get it). He curled up on the couch next to Grantaire and the artist smiled, wrapping an arm around him. 

          “You okay?” Grantaire asked quietly as Enjolras snuggled into his side.

          “ ‘M okay,” he promised. “Thank you.” Grantaire’s heart fluttered in his chest and he smiled.

          “Sorry our first date got cut short,” he said. “I’ll make it up to you when you’re more alive.” He felt Enjolras hum against him.

          “This is good,” he mumbled and a few minutes of silence passed before Grantaire looked down and saw Enjolras in a peaceful sleep. He smiled softly and kissed his forehead before falling asleep himself.


End file.
